A Snowflake Goal for 2013

My youngest (N) has been home sick with the stomach flu, so we've had lots of snuggle time on the sofa, conference calls for work done between loads of laundry & refilling the Gatorade & doses of medicine.

I also have done some baking, as it's super rare for me to be home for any extended period of time during the day. Here's what I've made:

• Lentil soup - simple, but hearty & fantastic. I added diced grilled chicken toward the end of cooking, but it would be fine without it. Next time I'll also add carrots.
• Banana bread - hands down, best banana bread I've ever made. I had a boatload of frozen bananas, & was trying to clean out our freezer. I made 6 mini loaves, one big loaf, & multiple muffin batches. AMAZING. Oh, sweet yum.
• Granola - I tried the clump recipe from The Frugal Girl. It turned out great, but I'd bake it for less next time - it got a little toasty.
• Christmas cookies - Raspberry Strippers. I rarely bake for the holidays, but these are M's favorite holiday cookies. They are simple, & oh so wonderful. I used whole wheat flour & actually prefer the flavor it provided - a little heartier.

So, the freezer is now stocked, we have fresh granola for the pantry, a nice surprise for M when he gets home tomorrow, & I have soup to eat for the week.

I also managed to clean out both of the kids closets & drawers, & a bookshelf. I'm on fire today! :-)

I posted a few weeks ago that I was converting a few old videos into DVDs for my grandmother's Christmas gift. I somehow ended up with an old box of 35 home movies from the 1960s, in varied condition, with no labels. My sister & I really wanted to get our grandmother something meaningful & special this year, so I chose five movies at random & sent them in. I wasn't very optimistic, as the quality of the movies looked poor after being stored in a garage for decades.

What we got back? Well, let's just say it was completely worth it. Four of five of the movies are great quality. One is pretty much all black. One of the movies is my aunt's wedding, another is a cousin on his first Christmas, all of my mom's siblings on vacation, & my favorite - - footage of my grandfather who passed away when I was two. We previewed the movies for my mom & uncle last weekend, & everyone was crying when we saw the footage of my grandfather. I'm getting all teary just thinking of how amazing it was to actually "see him".

I really, really want to have all of the movies converted & share the footage with the family. I'm estimating it will take a minimum of $350-400. It's not in my budget, & I'm trying hard to stay on track. So, I've decided that it will be a great motivator to use my snowflake money towards this project, & send the movies in small batches as I'm able to.

I've already done a $30 & $10 survey over the past couple of weeks, which should pay for a few movies. I'll make sure I include this project as my Mother's Day gift to both my mom & grandmother as well. I'm also going to scout out deals & continue to check to see if the service we use runs any specials.

All in all, a fabulous goal for my 2013 snowflakes!

How are you planning on spending your snowflakes this year?