Encourage a Dream

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of UPromise for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Saving money for a child's education after high school is a hard thing to these days.

But it is more important than ever for children to receive further education as it can hopefully give them an edge in the job market.

Every little bit that can be put aside is a good thing though.

And when a contest comes around that helps promote your child's dreams, then that is something to look into.

The website, www.upromisetodream.com is holding such a contest.

UPromise is celebrating it's 10th Anniversary, and they are giving us the gifts.

There will be eleven winners in all, ten will receive a prize of $1000, and one lucky winner will receive a grand prize of $10,000.

And it is really easy to enter this contest.

After reading the dream wall official rules, you can submit your dream for your children on their Dream Wall.

Share how you have inspired your child's dream and you could be one of those winners.

You can also vote on your favorite stories by "liking" them on the wall.

My dream is one of hope for our children.

Keeping the hope alive is an important thing during these trying times, and encouraging our child's dreams is a big part of parenting.

But that will always be, no matter their age.

Sweet Cantaloupe

They are on sale this week at the market.

Those delicious sweet cantaloupe melons.


Two of them went into the cart, and we are enjoying the second one with our dinner.


The orange flesh is loaded with vitamin C and they also provide a healthy dose of antioxidants.


One word of caution though, they need to be thoroughly washed before any slices are made into the skin.


Their irregular, bumpy skin hides and carries bacteria, especially the salmonella kind.


Washing and drying it helps to reduce contamination, and consuming the fruit within a couple days of cutting it is best.

A healthy sweet treat to be sure, and a good deal this week too!

 

Second Bean Harvest

The first harvest of our green beans in the garden was about two weeks ago.

And we got a lot of beans.

We just finished the second harvest, and we got more than the first one!

And there are still plenty of "little" beans and blooms left for another harvest.

This has been the best year we have had for these beans.

I think towards the end of the season, we are going to let some of them go to seed.

This was certainly a good batch of seeds, and we wouldn't mind another year like this one.

I love growing our own food - wish we had the space and means to do more.

 

Bad Joints and Exercise

Osteo-arthritis hurts.

And moving around seems to only make it hurt more.

So we don't.

And according to a new study, as reported on the news tonight, moving is the best thing for it.

Most individuals with this condition don't get ten minutes of exercise a week because it hurts too much to do it.

From what they have found, persisting through the pain will pay off in the long run.

The joints will move more readily with less pain as the muscles strengthen to help them.

This is even more motivation to keep up with a good exercise plan.

Use it or loose it.

It sounds so hard and painful to get it back - it is a shame to loose it at all!

 

A Substitute in the Granola

The snacks are at an all time low in the house.

Not wanting to buy fatty or salty foods, we have been bypassing the snack isle in the market for a good part of the summer.

Fresh fruits are great when we can get them on sale, but they are gone quickly.

So I thought I would make up a batch of granola.

Crunchy, sweet, and full of good stuff for the inards.

Measuring the ingredients, I found myself to be short about half the amount of oats I needed.

With the honey/oil mixture all measured out, I really needed those dry ingredients to keep the recipe balanced.

So, into the bowl went some rice krispies cereal.

I wasn't sure how they were going to hold up in the oven or how good they would be to the tastebuds.

Well, I must say, they worked.

They add a different "crunch" from what we are used to, but mixed in with the oats and seeds and of course, the mini chocolate chips, they are quite tasty.

It worked in a pinch, and actually it cuts the cost of making this snack since they are cheaper to buy than the oats.

One snack in the larder - hopefully it satisfies the snacking urge for a few days!

 

Corn Has Arrived

We just had our first local farm corn of the season.

And it was so delicious!

For the past few weeks we have been finding some in the supermarket, and it has been running about $5 a dozen.

It's good, but nothing like the local ones.

At $7 a dozen, it is worth the couple extra dollars.

The crispness and sweetness of these ears cannot be matched.

Fresh from the field to the plate in just a couple of hours.

The sweet taste of summer!