Happy New Year!

This is just a friendly reminder that today is the last day of the year in case you didn't look at the calender. This means it is the last day for tax-deductable donations for 2010. In addition to donations, it is also the last opportunity to use up your quota if you have a flexible spending health care account. You may want to double-check your flexible spending account rules for qualifying purchases. I know ours includes things such as band-aids and supplements so I'll be stocking up on these. I'm also cleaning out my closet right now- Goodwill here we come!

Now is the time to SHOP!!!

Stores are clearancing out their Christmas inventory, so now is the time to take full advantage! Try to think beyond Christmas while you shop by remembering these tips:

• Valentine's day is only 6 weeks away- buy red candies, napkins, and plates and save them for February.
• Walmart has a great variety of holiday tablecloths on sale for about $4 right now. Pick up some for gifts or for you. Most of them are solid colors such as green, red, and gold which can be used any time of year.
• Use one of the tablecloths you bought for a tree skirt for next year. Just cut a slit through it and place at the base of the tree.
• Buy Christmas themed pencils, erasers, and trinkets for next year's operation shoebox, angel tree, or your own child's stocking.
• Buy extra wrapping paper, lights, and decorations for next year-you'll love pulling out brand new stuff next year without paying a thing!
• Check your grocery store clearance cart. Our Kroger has Ghiradelli chocolate chips for $1 a bag!
• Another deal I'm seeing is boxed Christmas cards. Pick out a few boxes with simple designs and re-face them by putting a picture on the front. $1.50 for 15 cards is sooo much cheaper than buying or even making them yourself!
• Online photo processing companies are having super sales on picture development and photo cards. I'm planning on doing a valentine photo shoot with our daughter this week and taking advantage of the photo card deals. The pictures will still be current as Valentine's day is only 6 weeks away and the cards will be much cheaper now!

*Online photo-processing sites: www.seehere.com , www.shutterfly.com , www.snapfish.com , www.kodak.com , www.clarkcolor.com .

Tip O' The Week

I love pasta. Now I love it even more without taking a bite. Here are a few clever uses for uncooked spaghetti noodles!

• Protect the frosting job on a cake by sticking spaghetti noodles into the top before wrapping with plastic. (This is a better alternative to toothpicks because the noodles are longer.)
• Mark a recipe in your cook book with one.
• Use one as a cake tester if yours has gone MIA.
• Use to light candles on a birthday cake. You can light a lot more candles at once than with a match.

What's the password?

I've noticed while doing my online shopping this year that nearly every website requires you to create an account before you can place an order. This means you must create more passwords than you can possibly remember. After all, you have to remember your email, paypal, ebay, billpay, and other passwords to boot. I've read that if you use the same passwords over and over, you are more likely to be taken advantage of by a hacker. Yikes! I'm closing out this year by creating a password log. By entering all passwords with corresponding accounts into a notebook, I'll never have to wait for an email containing my forgotten password again! Just keep your password notebook in your computer desk for easy access, and if you're not comfortable putting "PASSWORDS" on the cover, just leave it blank or write a code word on it so you don't throw it away. I hope you will get as much satisfaction as I have from trying this simple tip.

*On another note, Chik-fil-A is giving away their new spicy chicken breakfast biscuit to a limited number of people who make a reservation on their website. Go to: http://www.getspicychicken.com/ and follow the directions to claim yours today! (I tried it this morning and it was quite simple to do!)

One final "note"

Well, Christmas is just 3 days away so I don't think you really need any more decorating or cooking advice at this point! I don't want to sound like your mother, but a hand-written thank you note is such as nice way to close out the holiday. Thank you's don't have to be long-winded. A short heartfelt note will do the job just fine. An easy way to keep tabs on your gifts is to "inventory" them after they are unwrapped and before you mix up who gave what. Just make a list of each person's name who gave a gift and what they gave. This makes writing those thank you notes so much easier. It also helps to pre-address and stamp envelopes ahead to shave more time off the task. There. That was easy!

*You can find pretty thank you notes in packs of 8-10 at Michael's craft stores for $1 each.

Disclaimer:
If by chance I know you personally and you haven't sent a thank-you, please know that I am in no way offended! =)

Prize Winner!!

Congratulations to Elizabeth Lewis on winning December's prize drawing! Please email me your mailing address at savvynest@gmail.com to claim your loot. Your feet will thank you!

Final Cookie Recipe

Christmas will be here in just 5 days! Here is my 4th and final cookie recipe of the month. This recipe makes beautiful gifts that look like you've purchased them at a gourmet candy store. Just don't mention that they are so quick and easy to make! (They taste pretty darn great too.)

Candy Cane Bark

6 oz. chocolate candy coating, chopped
3 oz. milk chocolate, chopped

6 oz. vanilla candy coating, chopped
3 oz. white chocolate baking squares, chopped

1/4 cup crushed candy cane pieces

• Melt the first 2 ingredients over low heat until smooth.
• Pour into a 10"x8" pan lined with foil.
• Melt next 2 ingredients over low heat until smooth and pour over the chocolate in the pan.
• Draw a knife or spatula through the chocolates to make swirl patterns.
• Sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
• Chill 30 minutes and break into pieces.

Makes 1 1/4 lbs.
*Candy coatings can be found in the baking aisle.