Winner!

The winner for the UGLee pen giveaway is comment #19 - Charlene!

Congratulations!

Thank you everyone for entering! :)

This Week's Favorites

I found some really neat information, recipes, and sites this week. :)

Homemade Pop Tarts - These look really good and could make a really healthy alternative to 'traditional' pop tarts. Filling them with homemade sugar free jam would be really great!

Cantaloupe Preserves - I think this would be a great 'new' thing to a all time favorite! You could possibly still enjoy cantaloupe now even in the out of season times. :)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Oat Bars

Peanut Butter Bars

Grocery List - I have been looking for a good grocery list and this one is perfect for my needs.

A really neat 2011 Planner

Natural Tick Repellent Remedy - the ticks have been really bad here for us this year, I'm hoping to try some of these on our dogs. I really dislike using the chemicals on them that you can buy at the store. I don't want my babies playing with them after they've been applied so I'm hoping one of these will work. : )

Homemade Natural Soaps

I hope you have found some favorites this week!

Psalm 27:1

The Family Budget Workbook - Book Review

The Family Budget Workbook
Gaining Control of Your Personal Finances
by Larry Burkett

Financial expert Larry Burkett introduces the ultimate family money management workbook. His sensible, realistic plan for getting and keeping your finances under control includes easy-to-use worksheets that make following the plan as easy as possible.

ISBN: 978-1-881273-20-2
Publish date: August, 1993
Page Count: 130
Dimensions: 8 x 11
Format: Paperback
Weight: .68 LBS

Introduction
1. Getting Started
2. Where Are We?
3. Short-Range Planning
4. Budget Problems
5. The Guideline Budget
6. Budget Analysis
7. The Control System
8. Begin Now (Forms)
Form 1 - Monthly Income &: Expenses
Form 2 - Variable Expense Planning
Form 3 - Budget Percentage Guidelines
Form 4 - Budget Analysis
Form 5 - Income Allocation
Form 6 - Savings Account Allocations
Form 7 - Individual Account Page
Form 7 - A-Checkbook Ledger
Form 8 - List of Debts
Form 8 - A-Impulse List
Masters for Duplication

About Larry Burkett:

LARRY BURKETT (1939-2003) was a well-known authority on business and personal finance. He wrote more than seventy books, including non-fiction bestsellers like Family Financial Workbook, Debt-Free Living, and The World's Easiest Guide to Finances. He also had a worldwide radio ministry. Larry founded Christian Financial Concepts and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Crown Financial Ministries®. He is survived by his wife, Judy, four grown children and nine grandchildren.

My Review:
I liked how this book was easy to read and apply. It's filled with easy to apply suggestions and fill in sheets. Diagrams in each chapter make it really easy to understand by seeing exactly what the author is explaining. The first 42 pages of the book are filled with examples and how to organize and put together a budget for your family. We have been using Mr. Burkett's system for controlling our finances for the last 3 1/2 months and have notices quite the improvement. We understand what is going where, why and how better after taking several of his suggestions and applying them. His book has really opened up some confused things for us and helped us get more organized financially. I think we are being more faithful and prudent with what the Lord has blessed us with by reading this book and applying it. Mr. Burkett has a gentle but firm way to show you how to gain control over your finances - it was really good for me. : ) I'd recommend this book if you need a little help gaining ground. It's easy to change things up in it just a bit for you own unique situation.

* Disclaimer - I received this book free from Moody Publishers as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Suuthe Emu Oil Review & Giveaway! - 6/29

I am happy to bring you yet another review & giveaway from Suuthe! This time I am reviewing their Emu Oil as that was the most common item of theirs requested by my readers! : )
Here's some product information from Suuthe's website!

Product Description

This Grade A Pure Emu Oil is a pure water processed Emu Oil . Pure Emu Oil has been used for thousands of years by the Australian Aborigines for its incredible healing power. You can use Pure Emu Oil for many skin ailments. In Australia and New Zealand, Emu Oil products are used over pharmaceuticals for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burn treatment. Emu Oil is also used for pain relief and to reduce swelling caused by arthritis and other muscle and joint problems.Emu Oil uses also include daily skin care and treatment of dry skin. Our Pure Emu Oil helps to normalize clogged pours. The Emu is a bird native to Australia and is only topped by the ostrich in height. Our Pure Emu Oil is refined through a pure water process. No harsh chemicals are used. Refined Emu Oil has a very powerful anti-inflammatory that works by penetrating deep into the skin. Emu Oil benefits the user by normalizing extremely inflamed tissues. Pure Emu Oil is classified as hypo-allergenic because it has little to no reaction rate.

Pure Emu Oil is effective for:

• Diaper Rash
• Eczema
• Psoriasis
• Dry Skin
• Cracked Skin
• Scraps
• Cuts
• Bumps
• Bruises
• Sunburn
• 1st & 2nd Degree Burns
• Stings & Insect Bites
• Skin Rash Treatment
• Baby Skin Issues
• Acne Breakouts
• Aging Skin
• Wrinkled Skin
• Allergy Rash
• Arthritis
• Itchy Rashes
• Atopic Dermatitis
• Bumpy Rashes
• Painful Rash
• Painful Skin
• Sensitive Skin
• Calluses
• Red Itchy Skin
• Fungus Diaper Rash
• Bursitis
• Stretch Marks
• Topical eczema
• Dermatitis Herpetiformis

My Thoughts:
I've been using my Emu Oil for the last few weeks since receiving it and have really enjoyed it. I haven't used it on that many different things but I like that it is quickly absorbed into the skin. It doesn't leave your skin feeling all oily and sticky. I've used it on my hands & scratches several times and have noticed the dry skin becoming softer and moisturized along with healing. I want to try it more on hair & just about all the other ways listed above that are applicable to me. :-) My hair is rather healthy at the time so not so much on mine as others. I've read that it can help increase hair growth and health. :-) Overall I've enjoyed this oil and plan on using more!

Buy It:

Suuthe’s Emu Oil along with many other All Natural skin care products can be purchased directly from their website.

Win It:

Suuthe has graciously offered to giveaway their Emu Oil to one of my readers!

MANDATORY ENTRY

Go visit Suuthe and leave a comment letting me know another one of their products you’d like to try.

EXTRA ENTRIES

• Follow A Restful Place through Google Friend Connect - left side bar (1 entry)
• Blog about this giveaway (3 entries, 3 comments)
• Join Suuthe on their Facebook or Twitter (1 entry each)
• Make a purchase from Suuthe (5 entries, 5 comments)
  

This giveaway will run from now until June 29th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. Be sure to leave your email address in each comment so I have a way to contact you if you win! The winner will be selected via Random.org and will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be selected.

Thank you Suuthe and everyone who enters!

Hope you win!

**Disclaimer - I received the above product (s) for review purposes only - all opinions expressed here are my own.

Homemade Baby Food :: Sweet Potatoes

Homemade Baby Food

Sweet Potatoes

What you'll need:

• a couple sweet potatoes, or yams
  
• some water
• food processor or blender
• jars or ice cube trays

Wash thoroughly and bake sweet potatoes or yams at 350-375 degrees for 1 & 1/2 - 2 + hours (depends on how many, I did 3 large sweet potatoes for about 2 hours).

Allow sweet potatoes to cool and then peel the skins off.

Place sweet potatoes in a food processor or blender and add a little water. Blend well until desired consistency. Add water to make it thinner if needed.


Place in baby food jars and refrigerate for up to a couple days or freeze in ice cube trays then transfer to ziplocks. Frozen it should last about a month. They defrost quickly, within about 2 hours. Each ice cube is approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons.

You can easily mix this with applesauce or other baby food. : )

I hope you enjoy making this for your baby.
Feel free to leave comments with suggestions or ideas. :)

Recipe :: Peanut Butter Brownie Cups

I made these just the other day and they were so good I thought I'd share them with you all! I hope you give them a try and enjoy them. If you do try them I'd love to hear how they turn out and if you enjoyed them!

Peanut Butter Brownie Cups
Prep: 30 min. Bake: 15 min. + cooling

1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, I used crunchy)
1/4 cup brown sugar (I didn't have brown sugar so I just used organic sugar)
2 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 squares (1 ounce each) unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter, cubed
3 eggs
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder

In a small mixing bowl, beat the peanut butter, brown sugar and 2 tablespoons flour until blended; set aside.


In a double boiler (or microwave safe bowl - I don't use a microwave so I used the double boiler method), melt chocolate and butter. Stir until smooth; cool slightly.


In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar and water; stir in the chocolate mixture and vanilla. Combine that baking powder and remaining flour; add to the chocolate mixture and mix well.


Fill paper-lined muffin cups one-fourth full (I realized that I didn't have an paper muffin cups once I got here. : ( so I generously greased my muffin cups and it worked just fine!).


Top each with about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter mixture. Spoon remaining batter over the top.


Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes or until centers are set (do not over-bake). Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire racks.

Makes 2 dozen.

UGLee Pen {An Ergonomic Pen} - Review & Giveaway

UGLee Pens

I really like pens! I love to write and a comfortable pen makes it even better! Through the years I have tried many pens but not nearly like Dr. Lee. One thing I like about pens is the way they look. To me a beautiful pen is almost worth it even if it hurts. That was until I tried these pens. They are so comfortable, at first they took a little time to get used to, but not too long. :)

I like them! I still have my favorite pen in my purse and use it often, but if I'm writing something long - the UGLee pen is the best!

You can view some Videos about the UGLee Pen there on the site.

Dr Lee says "My drive to create the ultimate comfort pen led me to go as far as to study the structure of the human hand using X-ray and researching the attachment and function of hand muscles to design the perfect grip." That's pretty impressive I think! :)

How the name came? UG stands for Ultimate Grip and 'Lee' for the physician who spent eight years obsessing over the pen's design.

This is definitely a comfort pen.

The UGLee Pen comes in Red, Pink, White, Yellow, Green, Blue, or Grey with Black, Blue, or Red ink. They have refill inks too!

BUY IT!
You can purchase your own UGLee Pen here for $19.99 (Retail$30.00) for a pack of 3!

WIN IT!
Dr. Lee has kindly offered of give one of you 1 3 pack of UGLee Pens (random color)!

TO ENTER GIVEAWAY:
It's easy, just leave a comment with your name and a way for me to contact you if you win!

EXTRA ENTRIES:

Go over to UGLee Pens and leave me a comment with your favorite color pen and something you learned! (2 entries, 2 comments)

Follow A Restful Place via Google Friend Connect (1 entry, 1 comment)

Join UGLee Pen on Facebook and/or Twitter (1 entry each, 1 comment each)

Blog about this giveaway, linking back here and UGLee Pens (Leave your link in your comments 3 entries, 3 comments)

Giveaway open to US only.

This giveaway will go until Monday, June 27th, 2011 and the winner will be selected on Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen. Thank you everyone! :)

I received the above product (s) for review purposes only - all opinions expressed here are my own.

Some Wonderful Giveaways To Share!

It's been about a week since I've posted here on A Restful Place - I have many thoughts and posts I hope to be finishing soon and posting {A couple reviews and giveaways too!}.

I ran across these giveaways lately and wanted to share them with you all! :)

Home-Keeping Hearts is giving away 2 books that look wonderful!

Sew Pretty Homestyle by Tilda
&
Stitch! by Cath Kidston.

You can enter Jenny's giveaway here!


The other giveaway I want to share is from Raising Homemakers! They are celebrating 1 year with several fun giveaways! I have recently been reading Raising Homemakers on a regular basis and have been so blessed by all the wonderful and sweet women who share so many helpful, wonderful, and wise things there!


You can enter their giveaways here:
DaySpring
Doorposts
Clay & Sally Clarkson Entire Book Collection

I hope you enjoy!
Blessings to all!
♥