The Family Knook

January 2013

Happy New Year

Let me take this opportunity on behalf of The Family Knook Advisors, Staff, and Consultants to thank you once again for your continued support. This year we are more determined than ever to help as many families as we can. But, remember that it takes all of us working together to get it done. I truly believe if we continue working, sharing, and partnering together we will reach our goals.

Tonya Merriweather GipsonEditor-in-Chief

www.thefamilyknook.webs.com

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Clean Sweep!: 20 Chores To Get Your Kids Helping Out

by J.J. Morgan

Here is a list of 20 chores kids can do, even when time is tight.1. Take the trash out.2. Collect trash from all household wastebaskets.3. Make their beds.4. Refill hand soap pumps in bathrooms.5. Collect bath and hand towels for laundry and put fresh ones out.6. Replenish Dixie cup, tissue, or toilet paper supplies in bathrooms.7. Set the table.8. Clear the table.9. Put toys away in playroom.10. Organize their bookshelves.

11. Run the vacuum.12. Clean out 1 drawer or area.13. Dust their room.14. Clean stuff out of the car (wrappers, books, toys, etc.)15. Get lunches or snacks ready for the next day.16. Pull weeds.17. Clean fingerprints off of doors/mirrors/walls.18. Put their own clean laundry away.19. Bring dirty laundry to laundry room.20. Create their own “To-Do” list for tomorrow.

The Family Knook Working Within The Community

2012 Annual School Supply Drive“Verizon Pioneers”

2012 Annual Toy and Clothing Drive

Partnering With “A Better Way”

California Chicken – Delicious Recipe (Cooking With The Chef)Servings: 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup couscous, dry 2-3 pieces chicken 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. lemon pepper 1 avocado, firm-ripe 2 tomatoes, cored, wedges 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded, cut in wedges 1/2 cup olives, small, ripe, pitted, sliced 1/2 onion, chopped 1 tsp. celery salt 1/4 tsp. basil, dried 1/4 tsp. marjoram, dried 1 Tbsp. dry sherry 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray the inside of a 2-quart cast iron Dutch oven and the lid with olive oil.

Pour dry couscous into pot. Add 1/2 cup water and evenly distribute grains across bottom. Arrange the chicken atop the couscous. Season lightly with salt and lemon pepper.

Add layers of green peppers, tomatoes and olives. Again, season lightly with salt and lemon pepper.

Halve, pit and peel the avocado. Then, layer it in slices or cubes on top of everything. In a small bowl, combine the onion, celery salt, basil, marjoram, sherry, and lemon juice and pour into pot over everything.

Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Tips:

Be certain that your oven temperature is accurate and your oven is fully pre-heated before putting the pot inside it. An oven thermometer can help ensure your oven is on target.

Getting Your Budget Back on Track after the Holiday Season by Jenny Willis

January is a great time to re-evaluate monthly expenses and get the budget back on track for the upcoming year.

Tracking ExpensesIf you are one of those people who has no idea where your money is going every month, then you need to sit down and start keeping track of all your household expenses, on a daily basis if necessary. You can keep track of expenses in your favorite budget computer software such as Quicken or Microsoft Money, on a spreadsheet, or even with pen and paper in a little notebook.

You probably already have a good idea what you are spending on your mortgage or rent, insurance, gas, etc. It's the little things like weekly groceries, coffee, movies, eating out, that really add up and tend to put you over your budget by the end of the month if you are not keeping track of your expenses.

Cutting BackNo one likes to have to cut back on their expenses, but if you have extra holiday bills to pay for (and don't forget about those upcoming winter utility bills), then it may be temporarily necessary to cut back in order to make ends meet. Eat at home more often, and set a grocery budget. It is helpful to set up a weekly or even monthly menu plan to make grocery shopping more easy. If you only shop at the grocery store once every week or every two weeks, you will cut back on extra purchases you may be making when you are running to the store every couple of days.

Planning AheadIf the holidays catch you off guard every year, consider starting a holiday gift fund so that you don't have to resort to using your credit card during the holiday season.

People tend to spend about the same amount of money during the holidays every year, so think about and add up how much money you spent this Christmas and divide it up into 12 monthly installments so that you can start saving for next year. If you can't put money away every month, if you get extra money at tax time or at another unexpected time of the year, put the extra money aside for the holidays. Set a spending limit. If you give yourself a budget for holiday spending, you will be much less likely to overspend.

Credit CardsEven people who normally don't use credit cards all the time tend to resort to using them during the holidays to finish their holiday shopping.

If you have a problem with using credit cards, put them away where you don't have easy access to them and remind yourself that you are going to have to pay for it for the next few months or more to pay it off.If you are going to use a credit card, use one that earns cash back when you shop. There are many credit cards these days that actually pay you to use them. If you pay the bill off when you get it, then you are actually saving money by using them.

The holidays can be a stressful time for some people when you feel pressured to buy presents for everyone and there is barely enough money to also make ends meet every month. Remember that if you are short on money your friends and family will understand. Make them a handmade gift instead of going into debt, or start saving money now so that you will have money for shopping next December. In January you will be glad you did.

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Organize Your Garage Today: 3 Simple Steps to a Clean Garage 

by Brian Russo

We’ve all been there before. You clean out your garage, sweep away the dust and pledge that you’ll keep it organized.

Three months later, it’s a complete disaster. Again. Keeping a garage organized isn’t the easiest task. Your garage really isn’t a place where you entertain people and you’re not in it for an extended period of time, so it’s easy to let things go by the wayside.

Have no fear, however. We have three easy-to-follow steps that can ensure your garage stays stunning.Say Goodbye to Your Junk

The number one contributor to a messy garage is that junk that you NEVER use. You know what I’m talking about: Deflated soccer ball, empty buckets that you said you were going to use for gardening, and that bag of clothes that you said you were going to donate to the church three months ago.

Plain and simply: get rid of it!Shelves. And Lots of Them.

If you want to truly organize your garage, you need to get things off the ground and onto shelves. You have plenty of wall space, and I don’t think you plan on hanging photos of your family on them. So, start installing shelves!Keep it Clean

Many garages aren’t really that cluttered, but they just look dirty. Make sure to keep your garage clean!

How to Make a Lego Table by Rachel Paxton

I first got the idea for a Lego table when I saw this cute table that this blogger had created for her toddler's duplo blocks.

That really got my imagination going. I have three boys who all love playing with Legos. After a couple of Christmases and birthdays where all they asked for was Legos, we are amassing quite an impressive Lego collection. 

I decided to scout out local thrift stores to try to find an old end table to use. On my first stop, I found a great table at Goodwill for $6! That was pretty exciting! By the way, the cost of a new Lego Activity Table is $70+!

We already had paint at home so I didn't have to buy that. A couple of cans of spray paint aren't very expensive though.

You will also need approximately four LEGO Green Building Plates (10" x 10") . You can usually find these at Toys R Us. You can also buy them on their web site or at Amazon. They are about $7 each. If you buy them from Amazon, you can get free shipping if you spend more than $25. We needed four for our table.

You will also need some strong spray adhesive to glue the base plates to the table.

You will be able to complete this project in an afternoon. Just paint the table (we painted the legs different colors), and then glue the base plates on top. It works best if you apply the spray adhesive both to the table and to the bottoms of the base plates.

That's it! My husband was skeptical of the idea at first, but when he saw how excited our boys were to play with their new Lego table, he was convinced. I only wish it were a little bigger!