This month’s Lifestyles’ Carnival theme is picnics. I thought I would share with you my pasta salad recipe. Personally, I don’t like the taste of the boxed pasta salad mixes and this one is always well received.
You’ll need:
1 box of garden rotini noodles
1 bottle zesty Italian salad dressing
1 small can of sliced olives, drained
handful of fresh chopped mushrooms
2-3 diced roma tomatoes*
1 cucumber – peeled and chopped
chopped deli ham (optional)
shredded cheese
Fill a large pot with water and bring water to a boil. Add box of noodles. Boil about 10 minutes, until noodles become tender. Drain and allow to cool. In a …read more

This month’s Lifestyles carnival theme is “Blast from the Past”.  We’re focusing on the 4th of July or similar type holidays in other countries.
Kelly told you about her most memorable July 4th and now I’ll share mine.  If you read her post, then you’ll know they have similarities.  Mine is different though because 1)  I did the pushing and 2)  I have the pictures.  lol
And here we have . . . Alligator’s birth day!!!!

My mom said I should name her Liberty Belle.  lol  That would have been a cool name though.
 
This picture is not great, but we did have an awesome …read more

In case you’re just now logging on, we’re in the midst of a blogathon.  We’re raising money for the Children’s Hunger Fund.  We’re working hard to post one article every hour during the 24 hour period.  After I made the commute to Virginia to visit Kelly, we worked into the morning hours.  I went to bed at 2:45 this morning.  Yawn!  I’m waiting for the coffee to kick in. 
There are a few others in the Lifestyles channel that are participating in The Great Blog Off.  These include Babylune and Quilting and Patchwork.  I hope you’ll drop by and see …read more

Kelly and I are scheduled to participate in a 24 hour blogathon tomorrow.  We’re supposed to post one article every 24 hours.  hehehe  Do you think we can do it?  We’ve asked for some help from some other bloggers, so hopefully we can get it done.  Stay tuned for some great articles.
I’m leaving out today to visit Kelly.  We’ll be working on the surprise that she told you about earlier this week.   

The Lifestyles Channel has already given you a glimpse inside their world by sharing where they blog and now they’re sharing another intimate part of life by sharing the views from their windows.
Some have taken a very creative approach and painted a portrait with words as they stroll through windows of time, life and their spiritual growth, while others share actual images of what they see on a day-to-day basis.
We do hope you’ll enjoy this month’s gift to our readers.  Now push open the shutters and experience the world in the way we see our world . . .
——————–
Mary Emma …read more

I have taken on a new writing project. You can also find me at One Book Two Book, another b5 Media blog.  I’ll be writing about books, tips for getting your child to read, activities to go along with books, and more.
I hope you’ll drop by One Book Two Book to see what Mary Emma and I are discussing, to add comments to the discussion, ask questions, and to give us inspiration and ideas for future articles.
As always, you can find me at: 
Little Fun; Little Learning
Thrifty Mommy
A Healthy Balance
One Book Two Book

 
In the U.S. we are preparing for the official launch of summertime with our Memorial Day Holiday coming up this next weekend.
To welcome the most beloved season, b5media Lifestyles Channel decided to usher Summertime in with a very special tribute to The Good Old Summertime.  A special thanks to Gayla for putting together this month’s blog carnival. 
Mary Emma Allen at One Book Two Book reminds you to check our your local library for their summer reading programs which can be great fun for youngsters, parents, and grandparents.
Be gone foul wasp!  Noreen Crone-Findlay at Hankering for Yarn has designed a crocheted …read more

Today, our lifestyles channel has a desire to introduce you to our work places.  What an eclectic group of kiddos!  We blog from our beds, couches, kitchens, or any place else a laptop would/could go.  Today, I actually blogged from downtown.  It was fun.  So here is a round-up of where my fellow b5ers blog.
Sandy Mitchell – All Holidays Cafe
Gayla McCord – MomGadget also blogging at Dating Dames – Supernanny Rules and CelebAmour
Marye Audet – Baking Delights – also blogging at Kettle and Cup
Christina Zola – Solomother
Chloe Findlay-Harder – Tangled Thread
Tracy Thompson – Foodie Obsessed
Peggy Rowland – Tree Hugging Family …read more

What a fun week we are having in the b5 Media Lifestyles Channel! Many of our bloggers have worked on putting together some awesome prizes and now we’re just waiting on you to win them! Here are some of the giveaways going on right now! There will be more giveaways going on throughout the week, so you may wish to sign up for our channel feed.
Tree Hugging Family - Mothering Magazine Subscriptions, Big Green Purse
Mother Earth’s Garden – Let it Rot! The Gardener’s Guide to Composting, Leapin Lemur and Penguin Puffs
Simply Thrifty – Coupon Organizer
Offbeat Homes – Building With Awareness Guidebook …read more

This month our b5 Lifestyles Channel Blog Carnival theme is the 80’s!!!  I’m so excited!  I love the 80’s.  
I feel privileged to have been raised in the 80’s.  It was a much simpler time.  There were no cell phones, no internet, and no texting.  What would today’s teenagers do with themselves?  lol
I hope you’ll take this walk down memory lane with me.  It is so funny.
The picture to the right was taken in Spring 1989.  I was standing with my brother before he went to prom.  I am sparing him some embarrassment by keeping him out of the picture.  Don’t you love the big hair? 
As best as I can recall, these things are from …read more