Sunday, June 18, 2017

No Soliciting Sign


It's that time of year when our doorbell rings constantly from Solicitors.  Well, last week I had had enough.  We had solicitors every single night.  I had originally planned on making a cute porch rules sign but quickly changed my mind.  In our city, if you post a No Soliciting sign, solicitors are not allowed by law to ring your doorbell.  I had one posted underneath my address number on the front of the house.  But I was still getting solicitors.  They would tell me they didn't notice it.  So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a giant sign right in front of my door and underneath my doorbell.  This couldn't possibly be missed.  I even took it a step further and cut out a tiny vinyl No Soliciting sign to stick right on the doorbell itself.

I first made a list of our most common solicitors.
I then searched a little bit on Pinterest other signs for inspiration.  The top quote was very popular and funny.  I'm not quite sure who to give credit to for it, because it was on multiple sites and pins. If you are the author or know who is please let me know so I can give them proper credit. Otherwise, I wrote the rest myself with the list of solicitors I compiled. *use as inspiration for personal use only!

It's a little hard to read in the picture.

No Soliciting
Seriously,
Don't ring the bell,
Don't make it weird!
Our kids take all our money
You can't beat our TV, internet, and phone service
We have found Jesus, 
and won't lose him
We know who we are voting for
We kill our own bugs
My kids work for free
Solar panels are ugly
Nobody can get my lawn greener than my husband
We love our vacuum
We don't clean, so we never run out of supplies
Unless you are bringing me a
package from Amazon,
flowers, are here to clean, or
from Publisher's Clearing House
with a big check
Please go away!
Our dog is hungry and our trigger finger's twitchy
Always Welcome
Friends, Family
and Neighbors

I typed out what I wanted my sign to say and played around with different fonts until I was happy with the sign.

The Oracal 651 is rated for outdoor use.

I split it into three sections to make it easier to cut and apply to the wood.





I purchased a piece of wood from my local hardware store and sanded it.

 I used a vinegar stain, I made for an earlier craft, on the wood.  I love the rustic look the color gives.

I then coated it with polyurethane for both protection and to help the vinyl adhere better to the wood.


I lined up the vinyl where I wanted it,
and marked it off for easy application.

I like to use contact paper instead of transfer paper to lift the vinyl lettering.  In my opinion, it works better and is cheaper.




Apply the letters where you want them.


Use a scrapper or credit card to rub the vinyl letters on.



I haven't had a single solicitor since placing my sign, knock on wood.  Almost everyone who has come to my door though loves it, it has been a great conversation piece.


I measured and designed a smaller simple sign for my doorbell.  I also cut it out of Oracal 651 (black) vinyl.
I don't think the solicitors can use the excuse they didn't see it now.






This is the cut-out I placed under the address number on my house.  Again, I used Oracal 651 Vinyl for outdoor use.



I wanted mine to be funny, but also right to the point.

*Use as inspiration for personal use only

Monday, June 12, 2017

10 Fast and Easy Slow Cooker Meals

Like all moms, it's a struggle to get dinner on the table.
It just seems there is always so much going on that takes you away from making dinner.
I got sick and tired of hitting the drive-thru line.  It gets to be expensive and it's ok to eat like that occasionally, but not healthy for all the time.

I decided I needed to learn to use my slow cooker more often.I started cooking in the morning or preparing the night before.

This way of cooking has become a lifesaver for our family's time together, wallet, and health.


All of these recipes can also be cooked in an Instant Pot Power Pressure Cooker.  The Instant Pot has a slow cooker function.  Each Recipe will also indicate pressure cooking directions when possible.

Here are a few of our favorite recipes:

pork chops


slow cooker ham and cabbage

slow cooker chicken

slow cooker peanuts



Green Chili Chicken


BBQ Chicken



We hope you like these recipes as much as we do!

Coming Soon:
Orange Chicken
Pork Roast
Beef Roast
Chicken and Rice
White Chili

Friday, June 9, 2017

Slow Cooker/Instant Pot BBQ Chicken


We are always on the lookout for quick and easy meals. 
This 2 ingredient meal can't get an easier.

We like Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce, but whatever your favorite is will work. (14oz. Bottle)

3-5 Chicken Breasts



Place in your slow cooker for 4-6 on high
3-4 hours on low


You can eat it as a whole chicken, shredded over rice, or Make a sandwich and enjoy it on a bun.


You can pull it apart easily with two forks or the fastest and easiest method is to put it in a Kitchen-aid mixer and let it do the work for you.



Enjoy!

If using an Instant Pot use your slow cooker function
or
Pour a cup on water in the bottom of the pan, on top of your rack place another inner bowl with the chicken and BBQ sauce on the chicken setting for 20 minutes.

If you liked this post, you might also like:


mustruninthefamily.com



pork chops

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Slow Cooker/Instant Pot Green Chili Chicken


This is seriously such an easy dish to make.  It is also very versatile.  It can be eaten as is, in a burrito, over rice, on a bun.  It can be frozen for a quick meal another night.  A simple family favorite.

All you need is
2TB Butter
4-6  Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
7oz. Can Diced Green Chili's


I like to cut up the butter and put it all over the chicken, but it's not necessary.




Place Chicken in slow cooker.


Pour in green chilis.


Add butter.


Cook in slow cooker for 3-4 hours on high
6-8 hours on low.

For the Instant Pot you can use the slow cooker feature. For the Pressure cooker setting I like to put a cup of water in the bottom of the pan, place the rack in, and put the ingredients into a separate inner pan on chicken setting for 20mins.

When cooked thoroughly, you can either eat the chicken as is or shred it.


I like to use my Kitchen aid  to shred my chicken.
So much faster.

easy shredded chicken


Enjoy!

If you liked this post, you might also like:

mustruninthefamily.com

pork chops
slow cooker ham and cabbage


slow cooker peanuts