Amanda's Books and More: March 2013

Friday, March 29, 2013

Make My Saturday Sweet - Blog Hop #30

How to Turn Brown Eggs White

There are only brown eggs sold in South Africa.
I'm glad about keeping things natural,
but I wanted to have white eggs
for Amanda to color her first
American style Easter eggs.
I found out on Wiki that you can boil
brown eggs in vinegar to turn them white.

Add vinegar to fill a medium size pot half full.
Don't fill the pot, because the foam that comes
off of the brown eggs rises quite high. Boil
the eggs gently for about 15 minutes.
Check to see if they are ready.

When they are ready, the eggs will be almost
completely white and then you can remove them
and allow them to cool at room temperature.

The only problem with this method is that
the shells become very thin and crack easily.
I began with 10 eggs and only 4 were
good enough to use for our Easter coloring project.
The photo of our 4 Easter eggs is at the top.
The rest I used in egg salad sandwiches.

Happy Easter!

Now on to the blog hop...

It's time for another Make My Saturday Sweet (M.M.S.S.) blog hop!

Join me (your host) for this fun and easy hop.

All family friendly blogs are welcome!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to link them on my Blog Hops page!

If you would like to be a guest co-host

on my Wednesday hop or on my
Saturday hop, then contact me at:

morleychristina[at]gmail[dot]com

I would love for you to follow me on Google Friend Connect

and also on

Google+

Twitter

Facebook

Leave me a comment with your link and I will follow back!

Here are the easy rules:

Follow Tina (your host) @ Amanda's Books and More.
Link up your family friendly blog.
Please try to add my hop button on your most recent post or on your side-bar.
Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.
Visit at least the last two blogs before your link and leave a comment.
Follow any new blogs that you like.

Blog Button Code:

This is a blog hop!

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Picture Perfect Party Linky #33

Welcome to another fabulous Wordless Wednesday!

All my photos can be viewed larger by clicking on them.

On Monday, I answered 10 questions about me

over at Brooke's blog, Covered in Grace.

Make sure you check it out!

Amanda sleeping with her kitten, Sheela

Amanda sleeping with her kitten, Sheela
Black and White

Amanda sleeping with her kitten, Sheela

Amanda resting with the kittens, Sheela and Prince

Linking with:

Now on to my blog hop...

Here's your chance to link up your Wordless Wednesday (with or without words)

or any picture post at this Picture Perfect Party Linky (P.P.P.L.)! Come join me

(Tina @ Amanda's Books and More) on this fun and easy blog hop!

If you host your own blog hop(s), then feel free to link them on my Blog Hops page!

If you're interested to be a guest co-host

on my Wednesday hop or my Saturday hop,

please send an email to:

morleychristina[at]gmail[dot]com

I would love for you to follow me on Google Friend Connect

and also on

Google+

Twitter

Facebook

Leave me a comment with a link and I will follow back!

Here are the easy rules:

Follow me. Please leave a comment so that I can follow back (as long as your blog is family friendly).
Link-up your post with a picture and follow as many new blogs as you like. Make sure you let them know that you’re following through this P.P.P.L. hop, tell them how you are following them and add your URL to the message, so they can follow back.
Grab the button below and add it on your post or on your side-bar, so that we can spread the word and get more people to the party.
Share about this hop on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook.

The Button Code:

This is a blog hop.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Monday Meet Up - Guest Post

I'm so excited to be introducing you to Brooke from Covered in Grace.

I've answered 10 questions over on her blog and she's done the same here.

I'm Co-Hosting her fabulous Monday Meet Up, so go check her out!

Hello new friends!!
I'm so excited to be here with Tina today and to get the opportunity to meet you all.

My name is Brooke, and I blog over at Covered in Grace.
There, I write about life as a mother, student, military wife,
photog wannabe, writer and Jesus lover.

For those of you that don't know me yet,
I thought I'd answer a few questions about myself
so ya'll could get to know me a little better.

1. How did you come up with the title of your blog?

Covered in Grace was something that had been rolling around in my head for a while. I had been blogging at My Beautiful Brooke for a long time, and while I was ok with the title, "beautiful" because HE sees me, it still wasn't sitting well with me-not completely. Covered in Grace encompasses what I believe, how I live, and pretty sums it all up. I am Covered in Grace through faith in Jesus.

2. If there was one blog post that you'd direct your readers to, what would that be?

Oh man, I'd direct you to any of my faith posts... but for today, I'd ask you to read A Letter to My Teenaged Self. It covers so many aspects of my writing: faith, nostalgia, creative writing... It pulls at my heart strings, it speaks to my soul.

3. What is your go-to quick fix meal when you've ~~spent too much time on Pinterest/Your Blog~~ been very, very busy?

Ha! Pancakes? Biscuits with eggs? Anything breakfast!

4. What is something you're looking forward to this coming summer?

VEGAS!! Yaaah! I can't believe that I'm actually typing that. But I am! My husband and I won a 5 day trip to Vegas a few months back. We're planning to go over the summer while the kiddos can stay with my sister. I can't wait!

5. Do you have any goofy talents or specialties?

Why, yes. Yes I do. I can make a siren sound by throat-chopping myself. It's very, very awesome. Perhaps you saw me in action? I posted a vlog on it: the I've Got Talent Vlog LinkUp! You'll definitely wan to check that out. There are some pretty amazing talents showcased there.

6. If you could be a character from any book through out the entire story, what book-what character?

Oh, that's easy. No question. I would be Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser...wife of Jamie Fraser. (oooh la la) She's the heroine in the best books ever....the Outlander series. If you haven't read these books, YOU MUST! These are the books I recommend over all others.

7. What is the best piece of blogging advice that you've ever received?

Be yourself. Write about what you want, feel, believe. And don't worry about the numbers.

8. What is your biggest dream?
To grow old with my husband. But after that...it's to become a published author...to just be a writer and have my words reach the masses.

9. What is your favorite Saturday morning like?

Waking up whenever, breakfast with the family, heading outside to enjoy nature-or driving around to get lost!

10. Why do you blog?

I blog to practice my craft. To use my gifts. To reflect on my spirituality and faith. I blog to glorify God. To share my favorite things. To network with others. To maintain daily writing habits. I blog because it has become a fantastic hobby...and because I love it.

I would love it if you'd stop by and visit me from time to time!

You can find me here:

Covered in Grace | Twitter | HelloCotton | Bloglovin | Facebook

Read the Easy Rules for this blog hop at Covered in Grace.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Make My Saturday Sweet - Blog Hop #29

Today I’m participating in Janine’s

“Finish the Sentence Friday” writing prompt,

so sit back and enjoy a good read!

One time when I was bored out of my mind, I…

picked up the novel, Die unendliche Geschichte (The Neverending Story), by Michael Ende, from off of my grandparents’ bookshelf. I was a child living in Germany and visiting my grandparents (my Oma and Opa). In those days there weren’t too many programs on TV and very few were geared towards children. Sometimes the weather was too bad to roam outside. I also didn’t have anyone to play with unless a friend came to visit, but it was a 2 hour drive from our home and from where my friends lived to my Oma and Opa’s home at the North Sea. German was my second language, but the novel was really difficult to read. Many of the words I didn’t even recognize. It took me several days, but eventually I finished it.

Since I got married and had kids, I don’t have time to be bored. My kids are rarely bored too, because they have more things and more good friends to keep them occupied today than I did back in my day. They also have daily chores, which aren’t hard to do, and this also keeps them busy.