Where is the Jump to Recipe button?

 I wanted to post about this little blog, Give Peas A Chance. I am the most inconsistent and random blogger. It has ebbed and flowed with my life. I started this blog to store recipes for my kids to have. That was in 2009. 2008? Something like that. I also blogged school lunches for a long time. Now my kids are all grown up. I've gotten rid of Bento Boxes, lunch boxes, lunch packing tools. Ebb and flow. Now, I blog book reviews. Perhaps not consistently.  I guess that is the point. Whatever is posted ebbs and flows with what I am doing most at the time. ADHD translation: It changes according to what I am hyperfocused on at the time. An early 2000's type of blog. It just is what it is without the bells and whistles. Just a mom with a creative outlet. Not really meant to gain followers or be seen by many. I don't make money here. I never have. Unless you count the one time I won $1000.00. There were times I did reviews and giveaways. That was fun for a while. Then it wasn't. Again, ebb and flow. 

 The thing that sparked this post? I wanted to blog, so I did. But the recent photos of the food. WHEW.  I have looked at them and thought to myself, "You shouldn't post that. It looks horrible." They do. I know it. I am simply taking quick photos. I sometimes take photos of food to post on Instagram or Facebook. Not that many people use Facebook anymore, but I do. I don't take them for the purpose of blogging. Lately, I have enjoyed the creative outlet. Putting up simple posts. Going through the 50 post drafts I have. Posting some of them. Deleting others. Just quick snapshots of food. Many times the lighting is so bad you will wonder why I didn't do something about it. The answer is I don't have the energy, and I don't care(I might later, but that is for later). If blogging is going to be a creative outlet, just for me, then I will not pressure myself to set up shots. To check lighting. To think about what color dishes I should use. Correlle Winter White is what it's going to be.  I have gotten rid of over half of my dishes. This is low-spoons blogging for my mental health. Once it no longer serves me in a positive way. I will simply step back and not pressure myself to keep up. Ebb and flow.

I don't even have a jump-to-recipe button. Trust me, I know how heated people can be about not having a jump-to-recipe button. The demand from readers to "just give me the recipe I came for". "I don't want your life story".  That's a whole other post, isn't it? The thing is, this isn't that kind of blog. This is for me. I've invited you into my space. We don't pay those bloggers and food creators for recipes. The least we can do is help them by giving them a click. That was a tangent. Anyway, I don't have the button. Do you know why I don't have that button?  Simply because I don't know how to add one. That's it. I don't have the know-how, and I don't want to pay someone with the know-how. Not because they are not worth their time and talent. This just isn't that kind of blog anymore. There's even a small icon under each post on the left-hand side at the bottom that says "Pin it" that I don't know how to remove. I've clicked on it, and it does nothing. I don't know how to remove it. It irritates me every time. There are even Twitter buttons. I don't even use Twitter anymore. All that is to say that if you're looking for a real blog. This isn't it. 

Will I pick up my camera again? Maybe. If I can find the battery charger. If it brings me joy to do so. I might not even blog about food for more than a few months. Ebb and flow, right? I stopped blogging recipes for a long time. Who knows how long this streak will be for. This is simply a creative outlet, hobby, and place for us as a family to look for recipes we have enjoyed. I have made wonderful friends through this blog. I am thankful for that. If you've gotten this far, thank you. You're welcome here, of course. Everyone is welcome. Just don't expect too much.

Thank you for being here. Have a blessed day.

 

Peasreads: Before We Forget Kindness by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

 

Before We Forget Kindness written by Toshikazu Kawaguchi tells stories about people who have come to a mysterious cafe to travel back in time. I have not read any books by this author but will definitely look for the other four in this series. This book can be read as a standalone.  Each of the characters are introduced and developed within the corresponding stories. There are four stories within this book, four people who want to time travel.  Each for their own reasons. Each story is heartwarming and heartbreaking in many ways. This review does not do justice to this book. It is one of my favorite reads of 2024. One of the very few five-star reads this year. 

From the publisher:

In the fifth book in the sensational Before the Coffee Gets Cold series translated from Japanese, the mysterious café where customers arrive hoping to travel back in time welcomes four new guests:

- The father who could not allow his daughter to get married

- A woman who couldn't give Valentine's Day chocolates to her loved one

- A boy who wants to show his smile to his divorced parents

- A wife holding a child with no name . . .

They must follow the café's strict rules, however, and come back to the present before their coffee goes cold. Another moving and heartwarming tale from Toshikazu Kawaguchi, in Before We Forget Kindness our new visitors wish to go back into their past to move on their present, finding closure and comfort so they can embark on a beautiful future.

Find more book reviews here under Peasreads.

Amazon reviews Katereviews.

Goodreads reviews.

I received this book from NetGalley. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are my own. I am disclosing this per the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Pasta al Limone (With Shrimp)

This pasta dish is creamy and flavorful. The ingredients are simple and easy to find many times I already have them on hand. It's not a difficult dish to make but it is so good. perfect quick weeknight meal.

Butterfly Blush- Color Changing Sushies

Hello everyone! Sorry I've been so absent. I hope you are all doing well! My youngest recently had a birthday party and I wanted to serve something fun to go along with the roll your own spring roll bar we had. I thought about having a bubble tea/boba tea bar but I wasn't sure which flavors to offer and such. Looking in my tea cabinet I saw my jar of Butterfly pea flowers. I make tea with them and cook with them quite a bit. I though they would be fun to use.

Gorilla Bread

This easy to make Gorilla Bread is perfect for brunch!

Hello everyone! It's so close to summer break I am getting antsy! By the time this post goes live my children will finally be on Summer break! We don't have any travel plans but I just can't wait to have my kid at home. What are your summer plans? I know we'll be doing lots of cooking and taking our lunches to the park. But other than that we'll play it by ear. One of the great things about being in our home is that there's room for everyone to be in the kitchen! It's been such a blessing. I'm hoping that the kids will get to cook more and more.

My birthday and a "thank you" giveaway!

July is a busy month here, three of our five family members have birthdays. With mine smack dab in the middle of two of those birthdays! I'm also having a quick eye surgery, so I'd love if you all kept me in your prayers. Because of that I have some posts scheduled but I may not be very active here, or on Facebook and such. I didn't want to go off and celebrate a Dr Seuss birthday and an American Girl Ice Cream Social without including you in some sort of celebration. I'm not having a party... hmm does Starbucks have party rooms? They should. I can't wait to share all the party fun I'm frantically putting together for the girls though!
I'm so thankful you all, for some crazy reason, found Give Peas A Chance. I'm glad you're here, I'm blessed to say that I have gotten to know some of you and can call you friends. To celebrate my birthday I wanted to  have a giveaway!! So I'm offering up 2 prizes. Enter below, there's even a mobile friendly link. Share with a friend! Each prize pack will contain TWO awesome blossom CUPPOW lids. This isn't a sponsored post, just a thank you from me. Those Cuppow peeps are pretty awesome though, so you can check out their Facebook and let them know I sent you. If you don't know what Cuppow is here is the review I did in 2012.

So in a nutshell
July is a busy month filled with blessings
I'm having  minor eye surgery and would love your prayers that it goes well- I'm nervous!
There's a THANK YOU giveaway for 4 Cuppow lids below. Enter and 2 lucky readers will win a pack of two- my choice of style/size/color.

Did you know that you can find Give Peas A Chance on
Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter (@peasblog)
Google+
Klout
Instagram- where I'm documenting my Summer Bucket List (blog post to follow, someday)

If you are in the US, have a US address, and are 18 years of age or older, enter below to win. Read the rules HERE, first.
**Please note that I have had to pick new winners often because not all of the requirements have been met for giveaways. If you want the extra entries for liking a Facebook page, following on twitter, blogging, signing up for a newsletter make sure you do follow/sign up/blog etc. These are not required for entry, but if you want extra entries please follow the prompts.

Disclaimer:  This is a fun giveaway that I want to do for  readers of Give Peas A Chance. I will ship to US addresses only, once prize packages leave my hands and go to the post office I am not responsible for  loss.  All pictures are from the companies site, unless noted.

More giveaways on GPAC found HERE.

MOBILE FRIENDLY LINK http://bit.ly/Ux8ZIv

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pick Your Plum Plumbox GIVEAWAY

Ring in the New Year right here! Start off your New Year with a Pick Your Plum Plumbox, you can enter below to win one. I'm a huge fan of Pick Your Plum,  read my reviews HERE and HERE. You can also see what I received in two of my Plumboxes in the pictures posted (though I admit the last one I bought was the best, and I forgot to get a picture of it!) I generally try to purchase one if Pick Your Plum announces a sale on their Facebook. Be sure to friend them there, that's where all the giveaways and special announcements are put up!

Here's a cut and paste of part of my review from October-

I can't even begin to tell you how awesome Pick Your Plum is. It's this amazing fun site that offers great deals on craft items, clothing, party supplies, home goods, and so much more. Their staff/customer service is top notch. They have emailed me within hours each time I've contacted them with questions, or to ask if I could add something to my order- which you can't add once you put in your order. No big deal though, they just had me put in a new order for what I needed, and they canceled my first order. Within hours.
The Pick Your Plum's daily offers range from so many items, as mentioned before. There is one offer a day. You can usually get a heads up on their Facebook page of what the deal is. You can also be in the "know" for when they stock Plum boxes (like grab bags FULL of swanky items). This my friends is awesome. Plum boxes are usually flat rate boxes filled to the brim with goodies. Above is my first box that Pick Your Plum sent me for review. How lovely is that? That romper fits my four year old. The bags I used for party favors HERE. So many fun items that I'll actually use! 

Once Pick Your Plum announces that these boxes will be stocked (they give a good 24 hours notice) set your clocks. They sell out fast, the last time they had 300 of them and they sold out in 12 minutes. No lie. I snagged one of those (pictured below) and this is what was in it. Detailed description in this post HERE. I'll be stalking these grab boxes whenever I can! This was a $30 box. Shipping is reasonable, this was a flat rate box- medium. (In the US that is!)

The fabulous people at Pick Your Plum have offered to one of you awesome Give Peas A Chance readers a PYP Plum box! A $75 Plum Box full of swank crafting, fashion, baking, and home decor swag! SQUEEEE! Ask me who's jealous that she can't enter to win this awesome box? Yes, me. Sigh...

But you? YOU can enter! Go do it! Then share with your friends and family, and they will thank you. If they win, maybe they will share. Come back tomorrow and get your daily entries in also!
 Scroll down to see items that have been in past boxes.

Find Pick Your Plum

• Website
• Sign up for the newsletter to get a heads up on items stocking, though Facebook fans are the first to know!
• Facebook
• Pinterest
• Twitter

If you are in the US and are 18 years of age or older, enter below! Read the rules HERE, first.

Disclaimer: I was provided a free sample/s of this product to review, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose.  Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway in return for the free product. All pictures are from the companies site, unless noted.
More giveaways on GPAC found HERE.

** Want to enter on your mobile? Use this mobile friendly link http://bit.ly/ZNZcAQ  **

a Rafflecopter giveaway

$100 Walmart Gift Card Giveaway

Can you believe Christmas is next week!? I'm so excited! How about you enter to win a little something for yourself? Give Peas A Chance and some pretty awesome bloggers are offering one lucky person the chance to win a $100 Walmart gift card to start 2013 off right.

This giveaway will run for 2 weeks and end on January 2, 2013 at 11:59pm US Eastern time. Open to United States & Canada, 18+.

Enter for your chance to win this helpful prize by filling out the PromoSimple entry form below. Good luck!
More giveaways on GPAC found HERE. 

Because I'm thankful for YOU! Jamberry Giveaway

The new Jamberry Junior Collection offers two coordinating nail designs on each sheet with 28 shields of one design and 14 of the other. The design with 28 is showcased as the bottom example.

Just a little giveaway from me to you! Some Jamberry Junior shields, which are great for littles and for adults who want to mix and match their mani or pedi. I did write a Jamberry review here, though this giveaway isn't sponsored.

I started blogging to save recipes for my children, of course the majority of my blogging is still for my girls. The thing is I've been blessed to meet some awesome people along the way.  Don't know how or why, but I feel so blessed. If you found Give Peas A Chance a long time ago, just through a quick google search, or you're just here for this giveaway- Welcome! I'm thankful for you. Hope you stay a bit, maybe share a link here an there. Enter to win through the rafflecopter form below!

 If you are in the US and are 18 years of age or older, enter below to win the Jamberry sheet! Read the rules HERE, first. 

If you haven't already find me on Facebook HERE

Follow me on Twitter @peasblog

Google + HERE

Pinterest HERE

Discla

Free Friday

I painted a bowl at the pottery painting place. I took the girls one day, they love it there! I do too, I'd enjoy it more though as a Mommy's Night Out. The kids slap their paint on and they are ready to go. That means I have to slap my paint on also. Diva and Piglet are better about it because they are older. Pixie though, she can finish in no time. Then walk away and ask to put on ten more coats of paint. Her little octopus pictured below made the wall of fame ;). My bowl did too, yay me.
The bowl says "Give Peas A Chance" in big bold letters, then the peas are there protesting.
And check out my Haiku a sweet friend wrote

 Please give peas a chance!
They really are quite yummy~
Quick! They will escape!

E-book of Thanksgiving recipes

Well, it's out! A while back Swoop contacted me about submitting a recipe for their Thanksgiving E-book. I sent in the Pumpkin Pie Shake recipe, and the book is out and ready for purchase. There are some amazing bloggers and recipes in the book and best of all,  100% of the proceeds go to Feeding America.

If you do not have a Kindle (which I don't) you can still purchase and browse on Kindle app or on the cloud drive online.
(Please ignore my seriously crazy picture.)

Pumpkin Pie Shakes and Recipes on GPAC
Pumpkin Pie Shakes 2008
Pumpkin Pie Shakes 2011
Pumpkin Pie Shakes 2012
E book
Pumpkin Syrup and Chai Syrup for lattes and more
Pumpkin Puree Crock Pot
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Pumpkin and Wild Rice Soup
Search Pumpkin in the search box on the left for more!

She just might blow over...

Hurricane Sandy that is. By the time she reaches where I am she won't be on water, she is being called a "Super storm" and even a "Franken storm" though. The thing about where we live is that the power goes out often. Big storm, little storm, it doesn't matter. I can't tell you how much food I've thrown away. This summer we were without power for almost a week. I think the longest time we've been without power (here) is about ten days. DH was adding it up and we were out of power for about a month if you add it up the first year we were here. And we had just moved here from the Panhandle, so we were used to hurricanes and having power out. But not like this, the power here is RE-DUNK-U-LOUS.
What's my point? Just that if you don't see me around, my power is out. Any giveaways that need "tending" to I'll get to ASAP. I do have some scheduled posts. Until then our readers are charged, phones charged, batteries, candles, have been gathered, and I picked up some water and snacky foods. The girls and I were talking about how thankful we were that it was fall. In the summer it's unbearable, the heat. We have a gas stove so we can still cook. But, I've said it all week. I've got too much darn bacon in the freezer for this nonsense. 

Sigh. (#firstworldproblems)

Seriously though, stay safe, be prepared. Prayers to those affected by this storm and those who have lost loved ones.

#100 Bento Gear- GIVEAWAY

Click to make it HUE-MUN-GOUS.

OK! So let's celebrate the 100th bento/lunch- because let's face it, my lunches aren't true Bentos, AND I posted my 100th review/giveaway last week also! This giveaway has a lunch focus. I have other ones planned that will have a craft theme, a cooking theme, and others. But let's see how this one goes first shall we?
First of all I want to thank you all for stopping by this little blog. I started blogging in 2007. Just to have a place to put recipes. A place to organize them and put them into a book for my girls when they leave for college. It's been a fun journey. I'm not a writer, I'm actually a HORRIBLE speller, and grammar is not my forte. I'm not even a great blogger, but blogging for me is fun, it's a hobby, it's also a stress reliever.
I hope you all like the items I have up for you. All are new, never used - obviously. I've just got a ton of items, that's what happens when you have fabulous friends in Japan and when you hoard, collect every item you see in the store.

Coach's Oats - GIVEAWAY

Some of you all may remember this review I did on Coach's Oats? If not, go read it! These oats are quick and easy to prepare, but not mushy and gummy in texture! With the crisp Fall weather creeping up on us I wanted to give 2 of my readers 10 packets each of Coach's Oats.

So how about it? I mean why not? I recently posted 2012's 100th Bento, AND my 100th giveaway.
When I started this blog in 2007, it was just a place to record recipes for my girls. It still is that place for me, I'm just blessed that I've met you all along the way. Thanks so much for visiting my little blog.

American Girl - Giveaway

I have three girls and they love playing with dolls. They love playing with other things like Legos, dragons, and super hero capes also. But this post is about American Girl, :). My brother blessed them with American girl dolls for Christmas and we took them to the Bistro for tea, you can read my review on that here.

But, this giveaway is for the book pictured above. This giveaway is in no way endorsed by American Girl. I just wanted to do a giveaway for you all because I'm so thankful that you read my blog, I've made friends through here, and some of you have been so supportive. I just wanted to do a little giveaway to thank you all for that.

Here is a description of the Go For it! book,  from the American Girl site.

Girls can "go for it" with this book filled with advice about how to start an activity, make it fun, and stay inspired. Includes conversation starters, quizzes, crafts, games, and inspirational quotes, plus good advice from real girls on finding their ideal sport or hobby, and enjoying it to the fullest. Author: Patti Kelly Criswell. Paperback. 64 pages.

 Giveaway is open to anyone with a US shipping address that is 18 years of age or over. I would love if you shared this giveaway also!

Grab me!

YAY! Finally, it took me a long time. But I have a blog button you can grab now! The code is on the right side of my blog. I have a massive HTML headache now, but I did it!
I made the button, okay, DH helped me on photoshop. Then I used this tutorial here from Manic Mother for the rest! Now to figure out how to put the "pin it", "share on FB" and "tweet this post" buttons at the bottom of my posts. I've been working on that for months. UGH.
If you have tips let me know!

Paper and Pigtails GIVEAWAY

Talented Kori from Paper and Pigtails is an artist who has a shop on etsy and a blog where you can see her art. She designs printables that are adorable and functional. She is friendly and answers any questions quickly via email. If you have a party you need invitations, stationary and/or decoration check out her store and blog. Need inspiration? Her portfolio has drool worthy ideas and parties! 

You will want to follow her blog and facebook for new products and fun freebies.

Here are some of my favorites from her Etsy shop.

Where to find Paper and Pigtails

www.paperandpigtailsparty.com

Facebook  www.facebook.com/PaperandPigtails

Twitter www.twitter.com/paperandpigtail 

Blog  http://paperandpigtailsparty.com/

Etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaperandPigtails

For a chance to win a $25 giftcard to the Paper and Pigtails  Etsy shop. Enter by August 13, 2011.
Enter using Rafflecopter only.

Good luck!

Three days to enter the Jessie Steele Giveaway! CLOSED

Want to win this cute vintage style apron? Click here to find out how!

Don't forget our mulit-vendor giveaway!

Here is all the info you need to enter!!! LINK HERE.

Ruby Moon Laundry detergent (and a chance to try some yourself!)

I was recently sent some samples of Ruby Moon Cloth Diaper Detergent in Lavender and Warm Vanilla Sugar. Both scents are divine. The Lavender not as strong. More on the scents later. Here is what Ruby Moon says about their detergent:

Our  Cloth Diaper Detergent is crafted especially for delicate skin and keeping your diapers tremendously clean. Made completely of all natural, vegan, and biodegradable ingredients that work hard to fight odor and stains, our detergent will leave your diapers super fresh and odor free.

Our cloth diaper safe detergent was formulated to work in all water types and is phosphate, enzyme, optical brightener, and soap free! Plus- you can even use this detergent for your regular laundry!  No more buying different detergents! Each bag contains enough cloth diaper detergent for 45 loads of diapers in a top loader and 90 loads in a HE washer

 We have an HE washer, I don't wash diapers anymore but I used this detergent for our clothing, kitchen linens, bedding, everything. Our laundry is clean and comes out of the wash smelling clean NOT like perfumes, not like Lavender or Warm Vanilla Sugar. Just clean. Which means it washes clean away and doesn't leave residue. Oldest DD who has the most sensitive skin and mild eczema had no break outs or flare ups with the change in detergent. All in all this is a wonderful natural detergent.

I also purchased a wool wash bar which s just a nice light clean scent. I haven't used it yet!
Would you like to try some Ruby Moon detergent? Check out the Spring Fever Giveaway and enter for a chance to win $10 off your next detergent purchase and other great prizes!