Tag Archives: Chicagoland

My Top 10 Favorite Things About Spring Time in Chicagoland

I think May is my favorite month in the spring. You can pretty much rely on having mild temps and sunny days. Of course, I do live in the Chicagoland area, so weather wise, nothing is ever for certain 🙂 I love getting to see everything come back to life after a long, cold winter.

• Lilacs ~ so many varieties, colors and glorious scents

• Seeing the brave little Hyacinths, Tulips and Daffodils breaking through the ground

• Seeing and hearing all the robins everywhere

• Having more daylight hours

• The smell of fresh cut grass (sorry allergy sufferers)

• Starting my organic vegetable garden

• Getting to wear sandals

• Being able to have the windows open for fresh air

• Cooking and eating outside

• Going for long walks in the forest preserves or on the IL prairie paths

These are some of my favorite things in the spring. It is usually a short-lived season in the Chicagoland area. We tend to move into hot and humid summer weather fairly quickly … but I do love the few blissful weeks in May with its mild weather and promise of new life 🙂

Many thanks to http://www.manylittleblessings.com & http://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/ for co-hosting List It Tuesday 🙂

Anniversary Giveaway Results ~ And The Winner Is …

Today is the day … it’s our First Anniversary here at Tracy Helps You !! I’ve been looking forward to this day for quite a while. Sadly, statistics show that many small businesses shut down within the first 5 years of operation. We are celebrating the fact that we can now say, “1 down a few more to go” 🙂

And the WINNER of the Amazon Gift card (drumroll please) … will be contacted via email. I know, kinda anti-climatic especially after a drumroll, but I want to respect the privacy of my subscribers.

I would like to take this time to THANK all the clients that I’ve been blessed with and had the pleasure of “helping” this past year. You’ve all been wonderful and make what I do … FUN !!

I have received a report from Rafflecopter with your responses to the giveaway entry questions about what topics and subjects you’d like to read about here in my blog and in the newsletter. Also, thank you for your suggestions in the comments section. I plan to incorporate all this info into my blogging / newsletter topic planner.

So my friends, going into our second year of business, I’d appreciate your thoughts, tips and/or suggestions. Do you have any ideas to improve our website ~ navigation or design? Would you like to see additional services offered? How about on our social media profiles (I hope you like / follow me) … what type Pins, Tweets, and Statuses would you like to see more of? Do you have any advertising suggestions (keeping a small budget in mind)? They say “word of mouth” is the best type of advertising … I appreciate any referrals that you have made or will make for me 🙂

Consider the comment section as Tracy Helps You’s “virtual” suggestion box 🙂

Homemade Soup Keeps You Warm on a Cold Winter Day

There’s nothing like a big bowl of steamy, hot, homemade soup. It’s one of my favorite comfort foods. One of my goals is to learn how to make some of my favorite soups. I’m a beginner when it comes to making homemade soup. I have a list of my favorites that I want to learn how to make.

Chicken Soup
Vegetable Beef
Broccoli Cheddar
Split Pea
Loaded Baked Potato
Navy Bean
Taco Soup
Creamy Pumpkin
Chicken Enchilada

I am pleased with my Chicken soup skills … I’ve made it successfully several times. I can’t decide which to try next … it’s between Broccoli Cheddar and Loaded Baked Potato… I’ve been checking out Pinterest for some healthy recipes 🙂

I recently read an article in Midwest Living magazine that intrigued me. It was about throwing a casual Soup Exchange party. Most of us have been to Cookie Exchange parties, usually around the Christmas holidays. This is the same type concept, except it promotes healthy recipes. I thought it might be a fun idea to have one in the midst of this record breaking Chicagoland winter.

So basically, you make your pot of soup at home, and then bring it to the party in quart size containers … one for each guest. So if 6 people are coming, they each bring 6 quarts of their soup with 6 copies of their recipe. One quart of each recipe is warmed up and shared at the party, and each guest goes home with 5 different quarts of soup to put in their freezer. I would suggest noting on the recipe if it freezes well or not. I’ve heard that cream based soups aren’t really freezer friendly. The hostess can provide a bread & cracker assortment and beverages, or make that potluck and assign each guest with something to bring. Enjoy a warm & cozy winter evening with good friends and good food … sounds wonderful to me 🙂

Have you ever been to this kind of party? Do you think you’d enjoy it? What kind of soup would you bring? Leave a comment & share your favorite recipe …

Polar Vortex, Round Two – Do You Have A Fully Stocked Freezer and Pantry ??

Well, it’s another freezing cold day in the Chicagoland area. They are calling it the second wave of the Polar Vortex we experienced a couple of weeks ago. Although it’s not as extreme as the harsh sub-zero wind chill temperatures we had on January 6^th, it’s still frigid. They were also saying that we have already had more snow accumulation than the yearly average and its only January … there’s still a lot of winter left.

I went to Wal-Mart yesterday afternoon to pick up a few things. It was really crowded … all the checkout lines were full. It kinda felt like Christmas shopping dejavue. While I was waiting in line, I overheard some people commenting on having to stock up on groceries so they wouldn’t have to go out in the extreme weather that was coming.

I looked in my cart … fish food, razors, shampoo and printer paper. No last minute food items were there, because I try to always have my pantry and freezer stocked. I’ve always been this way. I think I must have learned it from my Grandma (who raised me). I’m not totally sure, but I do remember her saying something to the effect of “ TP is not something you ever want to run out of “ … haha … and I totally agree with her 🙂

I like to have the replacement item on a shelf somewhere, ready and waiting … be it TP or shampoo. My motto is “Its better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it”.

I can’t afford to just go out and buy enough food to fully stock the freezer and pantry, so I’ve come up with a couple of ideas that have worked for me:

I try to take advantage of BOGO (buy one, get one free) sales. It’s even better for my budget if I can use coupons 🙂
Shopping in bulk at stores like Costco or Sam’s Club has helped me build up a back-up supply.
When I cook dinner, I try to make a double batch of the recipe, and then freeze half of it for a future meal.

I consider my family to be truly blessed that we are able to have plenty of food to eat. Knowing my pantry and freezer are full gives me peace of mind knowing that if the weather is extreme, or if we get sick, no one has to run out to the store.

I hope my ideas and tips are helpful to you … I’d love to hear some of your thoughts 🙂

Tracy Helps You’s Thankful Thoughts for Today ~ 11-18-13

November 18 ~ Today I am thankful for changing seasons. I’m blessed to live in an area of the country where the seasons actually change. The weather in the Chicagoland area often gets a bad rap. It seems we have every extreme known to mankind (slight exaggeration … maybe). From hot & humid to frostbite below zero wind-chill temps … from drought, Smokey the Bear warnings dry to flash flooding … and throw tornadoes and blizzards into the mix and well, you get a pretty good picture 🙂

Along with the multitude of weather scenarios, we get all four seasons. Fall is my favorite … I just love the gorgeous color of the leaves, and pretty much anything pumpkin flavored 🙂 I count it a blessing to live in an area where we get to experience the change with each season.

♥ Today I am thankful for changing seasons ♥