We recently had our power go out twice.  We’ve had some crazy windstorms around here.  Luckily, we weren’t without power for long, but I was immediately grateful we have this!  (Now flashlights and batteries… got to work on keeping those where I can find them!)
I think this is such a genius product.    It’s an oven… that runs on TEA LIGHTS.  Yep, tea lights.  That means you can run it 24/7, you don’t need sunlight like a solar oven, you don’t even have to use it outside!  There are no fumes, except of course the yummy bread baking.  I am so impressed with this thing.  And while we got it for emergencies we break it out and use it on occasion just for kicks.  So zombie apocalypse, bring it on.  😉

Titan Ready Water is the company name and right now he’s offering a crazy deal, $50 off their Helius Rocket Stove, $30 off the Eco Herc, and a whopping $90 off the Herc Oven XXL (this is the one I have).  Did I mention you can not only bake bread in this, you could even roast a WHOLE turkey? Oh, and it folds up to about 2 inches thick!

Click on the links below for the PDF flyers for more information about each product and the sale prices.

Eco Herc flyer

HERC XXL

HELIUS Rocket Stove

I’m not sure this is considered a timer.  I think life changer is more adequate.  Time Timer sent me their newest timer the “Time Timer Plus” and we are totally sold on these amazing timers.  Having a kiddo with Autism, the ability to visually see that red section shrink as the time passes has made the difference between her understanding and not understanding.  I have used timers before for her to try to help her understand how long she needed to work on schoolwork, or wait to have time on the computer, etc.  Until using this timer it never seemed to make sense for her.
I think if you are using it for a child with special needs or even just kids in general, you’ll find it super helpful.  It is completely silent as it runs and you can choose how loud you want the buzz to be when time’s up, or opt for no sound at all.  The buzz is not annoying or super loud, but loud enough that you’ll notice it.  And I love that I can look across the room and see how much time is left on it.  The main difference with this model and their other models is that the face of this model is completely enclosed, which if you have young children who might mess with the face it is most definitely worth it.  They do carry other styles as well as watches and I think the small 3 inch timers would be very handy for when we’re on the go, and the watch might be the only one Amelia will do well with too.
Finally, a timer that works!  This thing is a life saver.  Go check out their website, timetimer.com to see all their great timers.

I recently have done a lot of research trying to find some bento boxes for my family.  I love the idea of food being seperated, espcially for Amelia, since that is something Autistic kids struggle with.  After a lot of looking around, I settled on the bento box system from Laptop Lunches.  And I am super happy with them.

While I don’t normally post on a friday night, (especially when I’m trying to get the site looking decent… still working on that one) I have a sweet deal for you I had to share!  

Laptop Lunches is offering my readers a discount of 10%!   Just use the coupon code ” msabts” , good through September 1st.  

I purchased the “bento lunch box 2.0”  which includes the outer case, and 5 inner containers, 2 lg containers (1 with a lid), 2 medium containers (1 with a lid), and a small dip/sauce container with a lid.)
I also added an extra large container (look under replacement parts for these)  which you can swap out the 2 lg containers for, or add for days you need another container.  You can also buy “bento buddies”, which are extra containers that include one of the extra large containers, but for us we just wanted the extra large one for extra and not the others.

I wasn’t sure  they would be large enough, but I have been pleasantly surprised and even realized other containers I’ve used didn’t hold nearly as much as I thought.  I have noticed a whole apple is usually too big to fit with the lid closed, but I just leave those on the side.  As you can see from the picture above, I use them with liquidy foods, like leftover posole  with no issues with leaking at all.  The lids hold everything in very well, I never have to worry even if it’s carried on it’s side about leaking.

The dip/sauce container is amazing for condiments, dressings, dips, etc.  Sometimes I put a little balsamic vinegar and garlic olive oil in one for a dressing and I’m still amazed it doesn’t leak out!  I sometimes use this for dark chocolate dipped berries for a treat in hubby’s lunch too.

Amelia loves having foods separated, so these work really well for her.
Not only autistic kids, but kids with sensory issues in general tend to have a lot of issues with foods mixing.  The bento box takes that stress away so you can focus on getting them to eat more healthy, not worrying about a “mixing” meltdown.

Here you can see the extra large container compared with the outer case.

I know it’s about the end of berry/cherry season and I almost didn’t get my freezer stocked this year.  I barely made it, luckily.  I know I would be very sad in a couple months if that happened.  I had to share a great find with you.  I have a new best friend for cherry season.
I couldn’t resist buying a big box of cherries at the farm market but I had promised myself I would buy a new cherry pitter before I bought cherries again.  I found the Progressive Cherry-It Pitter at my local Bed Bath & Beyond store and liked that it pitted 4 at once.  My old hand held pitter mashed the cherries and was excruciating on the hands.  I have bad wrists from working in restaurants and those things are awful on them.  I was hoping for just a little improvement even.
In just an hour or so I had pitted over 20 lbs of cherries and my hand didn’t hurt at all.  While Progressive boasts that it contains all splatter, I did find that a little got on the counter, but clean up was NOTHING compared to before. And it takes up almost no room.
Let me show you how it works: Here you can see the metal x shaped blades that push the pits into the case below.

You choose either the small or large holes on the tray for size of cherries you have:

Then place up to 4 cherries in the tray:

Push cover down to puncture

And you can see only a small x is made in the cherries, they aren’t mashed at all because it’s spring loaded.

The pits drop down into the tray below, and there’s a very small hole on the underside of the cherries where the pit is pushed out.  I dry the cherries whole, or lay out on a silicone mat lined tray and freeze overnight to flash freeze.  Then I put them in ziplocks or freezer containers.  These are my favorite.  Since I freeze alot of berries I use the half gallon size for them.
This method also works well for raspberries, blackberries, etc.
This way they won’t freeze together in a big clump and you can measure out exactly what you want when you want them.  I’ve also noticed they don’t get freezer burned as easily (or at all) when flash frozen.
I use these for smoothies, milkshakes, muffins, baked goods, you name it!