Well we are snowed in again. Time to get the deck of cards out. My son loves playing card games and I love how quick and easy they can be. No setting up a board game and all of the pieces. One deck of cards and your instantly playing and entertained. So make sure you own a deck of cards.
I’m going to explain a few quick easy card games that you can play with your kids. You can get started right away and they will love that you slowed down to play a game with them. Have fun!
Crazy Eights:
- Deal five cards to each player.
- The remainder of cards go facedown in the middle. Flip one card over from deck.
- Person going first will need to lay a card of either same suit or number as that card, or an 8 if they have nothing else to play.
- If an 8 is played then the person who played it can decide which suit now has to be played. (So if they call hearts the next player will have to play a heart.)
- If they do not have a card to play then they have to draw from the pile until they get one that they can play.
- Play continues with the next person.
- First person with no cards left wins.
Go Fish:
(Our quick simple version. This is not how most people play.) (Original rules) I was taught wrong when I was a kid, haha, so we just go with it.
- Deal 5 cards to each player.
- The rest of cards go facedown in middle.
- First player asks another player if they have a “5” for example. (They have to have at least one card in their hand of that number if they ask for it.)
- If that person has that card they have to give it to them. (If they have two of them then they give both)
- If that player did not have a card to give the person then they tell them to “go fish” and the person that is fishing draws a card from the pile.
- When you get 3 that match you lay those cards down. If anyone else has or gets a card that matches someone elses that are lying down they can set that card on that pile to get it out of their hand. (So if someone laid down a set with three 5’s and you have a 5 in your hand lay it on their pile)
- Play continues until someone runs out of cards.
War:
- Deal cards until deck is completely dealt.
- Everyone puts their cards face down in a pile in front of them.
- Everyone flips a card from their pile over at the same time so everyone can see it.
- The person with the highest card gets the cards that were turned over.
- If it is a tie, then each person lays 3 cards from their pile face down and everyone then flips their 4th card over for everyone to see.
- Whoever has the highest gets all of those cards.
- Play continues until all cards have been used. Player with the most cards at the end wins.
21 (Blackjack):
- Cards all equal face value, king, queen, jack are worth 10 and aces can be used as 1 or 11.
- Pick a dealer. Dealer will deal one card face down to each player and then one card face up to each player.
- The object is to get as close to 21 without going over.
- Each player can either “stay” or ask dealer to “hit me”, meaning give me another card.
- The dealer would deal that player another card face up.
- Players can also choose to stay. (If they feel like they are close enough to 21 and don’t want to take a chance of going over)
- When everyone has stayed and wants no more cards then everyone will flip all cards over so visible to everyone.
- Person closest to 21 without going over wins that round.
Card Houses:
- If you don’t want to play an actual game then you can always resort to building a house of cards.
- Build your base with 2 cards in shape of tent, one one each side, and one across the top.
- Build on from there. Good luck, get creative, have fun.
I was nominated for the Versatile Blogger Award. I’m super excited and want to thank Beth, from Finding the Road to Simple and Heather from Mamabefrugal. Check both of their pages.
If you want to read all about the Versatile Blogging Award click here. So, here’s the deal, I have to share 7 random facts about myself and then I get to nominate 15 other bloggers that I think are great. So here you go:
- I live in the country.
- I LOVE pizza!
- My son started Kindergarten the same year my daughter started college.
- I have the sweetest black lab.
- Something About Mary is one of my favorite movies.
- I love watching home makeover shows.
- I like road trips.
So let’s nominate some more people for this award.
My go to, Italian sausage, when I need to fix a meal in a hurry. This can be done in 20 minutes, depending on how long it takes you to chop veggies. Serve it alone or make a quick salad to go with it. 20 minutes and done. This makes a great weeknight meal or save it for when you’re tired and just want out of the kitchen fast. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- Italian sausage links (I prefer the spicy)
- 1 Onion sliced
- 1 Green Pepper sliced
- Cheddar Cheese (optional)
- Sourdough Bread
Split sausage links in half, not all the way through. Open, lay flat and remove casing, press flat in skillet. Add onion and pepper on top. Cook over medium high heat for about 3 minutes, flip and cook another 3 to 4 minutes, until sausage is cooked through. Next you can either remove sausage or stack to one side if skillet. Continue cooking onions and peppers for about 5 or 6 minutes until softened and browned. Lay sausages out in pan again and add cheese if you would like to.
Serve on toasted sourdough bread. Can add mayonaise, sweet hot mustard or condiment of your choice. Enjoy, you’re already done!
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I love finding new home decor items. I can watch all of the home makeover shows all day if given the opportunity. I am by no means a pro, I just enjoy trying new ideas and dreaming about my own home makeover.
I use Amazon frequently when looking for items. I live in a rural area and do not have shopping nearby, so I rely on online shopping options. I also like bargains. I prefer not to spend a lot of money on home decor because I like having the option to change things up a bit when I feel like it. I want to share some of the items that I have found and really like.
I love, teals and browns together. These are a few items that work well in a living room. Like I said I change my color schemes every so often but this is my current favorite.
I really enjoy looking through everyone’s blogs and posts to see what others are doing and to get new ideas.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy for details.
Moving your teen away to college can be hard. When it comes that time though you want them have a place to call home for the school year. I couldn’t leave mine in the dreary plain room that you first walk into. They are going to be spending a lot of time there and need to at least like the feel of it.
First off know that not all rooms are exactly the same. We went into the first year with a plan for my daughters room that involved being able to raise her bed because when we were shown rooms we were told that it was always an option…it wasn’t. Had to come up with a new plan real quick.
Second of all don’t assume it will be cleaned to your standards. We discovered this the second year. Come prepared with cleaning supplies and plan to clean for awhile before you start to move in and decorate.
Next you’ll want to raise bed or not and rearrange furniture to flow well with your plan. Take a little time while your cleaning to really think about the best arrangement. My suggestion is start with the bed location and where they feel that they are going to be most comfortable. Work around this. They are the ones who have to live in this room for the next 9 months so they need to be happy with the location of their bed.
A few simple things can really help the room feel homey and like their own. Make sure they choose the color theme since they are the ones looking at it everyday. Get items that match and flow well together. You want a calm relaxing area that is also functional. They will spend a lot of time here.
Essential Items:
- Comforter
- Sheets
- Pillows
- Mattress pad
- Office supplies
- Curtains
- Towels
Basic tools for move in day:
- Cleaning supplies
- Tools – screwdrivers, allen wrenches, hammer, small nails
- Vacuum
- Power strip
- Tape
- Bed risers
Decorating Items:
- Picture frames
- Artwork for walls
- Command hooks and picture hanging strips
- Lamp
- Mirror (full length and lighted make-up)
- Lights
- Area Rug
- Throw Pillows
Organizing Essentials:
- Cube storage organizers
- Small shelf to hold cube organizers
- Bulletin board
- White board
- Laundry basket
- Clothes hangers
- Rolling cart
- File bin
- Shower caddy
Before move in day you need to have theme in mind such as colors and style. There are many things you can purchase in advance such as all of the essential items along with decorating ideas. Most of the organizing essentials can be purchased ahead of time also. Once you get there be prepared to adjust plans slightly if needed because of room size and measurements.
The room my daughter got the second year ended up being a lot smaller in size and we ended up using storage bins under the bed for some items. For example shoes ended up in a bin because there was not as much room for shoe rack as before.
Designing a dorm room requires creativity and flexibility. Start with your basic ideas and plans and adjust on move in day as needed. Coordinating items and sticking to one style will make room feel comforting. No one wants to live in a single room that is disorganized with no flow. Have fun decorating!
This won’t be the first time that you hear me say this….I love soup! This recipe though is probably my favorite soups though. I absolutely love Italian sausage. This is a simple recipe that can be done in a short amount of time but taste like it’s been simmering all day. Even my husband will consider this a meal. If you like potato soup and Italian sausage then you will enjoy the combination of the two in this recipe.
I first made this one evening when I came home after a long day at work and had not been to the grocery store yet. I had limited ingredients around the kitchen. I knew I had some Italian sausages in the refrigerator and I always have potatoes, so I started searching the net for ideas. I ran across different soups that included both of these items and decided to just go for it and create my own. Hope you enjoy and feel free to always tweak my recipes to fit you and your ingredients on hand. That’s the joy of cooking, you can always add your own twist.
- 1/2 – 1lb Cooked Ground Italian Sausage (spicy or not)
- 1 stick of Butter (trust me)
- 1 Onion chopped
- 2-3 cloves Garlic minced
- 5 Russet Potatoes cubed
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 3 tsp Parsley
- 2 1/2 tsp Flour
- 6 cups Whole Milk
Melt the butter in a large pot on medium low heat. Add onions and cook until transparent, stirring frequently. Add garlic, potatoes, salt, pepper and parsley, cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in the cooked sausage.
Add flour and cook for 2 more minutes. Slowly stir in milk. Slowly bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender.
Serve alone or I like to serve with biscuits. Enjoy. Just as good reheated the next day.
