WOW, Things have been crazy.

So many things have been going on in life, I am so totally behind on all the little details.

Okay, so first of all.

Grand son #3, born 3 weeks early has made amazing progress and has come home from NICU a full month earlier than anticipated.  He now weighs 4 lbs. 11.5 oz and is 18.5 inches.  I just measured, he is a little longer than a cabbage patch doll, but much smaller around. LOL

I just love this photo, my favorite way to hold a baby.  All snuggled up next to my neck.  He just doesn't look real in this photo, but he is a keeper.

The last few weeks have just been crazy around here.  Between the baby coming home, my mom in and out of hospital and in and out of doctors to try and regulate her medications, add to that my own trips to doctors and lab work for the surgery I had this past Friday, there has just been a fair amount of chaos.

This is post surgery, before the bruising has all set in.  We are having to give our dogs some medicine and I was helping hubby, picked up one of them and now I am bleeding again. Oh well, not much and after all that is part of life I suppose.

I am hoping that this will wind down the chaos now.  Starting in August I hope to get back on track with household chores, menu planning, and able to do some sewing.  I need to make daughter J some clothes for school.  Wow, school starts back in three weeks, where did the summer go.  I also plan to do some sewing for little grand baby M since it is just impossible to find much in the preemie size.  I cooked breakfast this morning.  My newest thing is poached eggs.  I just love them.  I did cook them in the hot water, but I am determined to find a poaching pan like my mom had.  I like the whites a little more set than I am able to do with hot water method.  In my trial and error attempts this morning, I have learned to do the egg drop soup type and that is the technique used to make this really awesome chicken soup that I searched out a recipe on after having it at the restaurant my son works at.  Of course, there a few more changes that may be taking place as well, my last blood work showed that I may now be diabetic and my doctor may have me make so harsh changes around here.  Oh I can make them, if I have to, but I just won't like it much.  I also know that after a month out of the gym, getting back in to some type of work out routine will go a long ways to helping with that problem.  However, if I change my diet, the whole family is changing theirs too.  At one time, I swore I wouldn't change things for them, but there is not one person in this house that would not benefit from a change in diet.  Also, it is not fair to me to have to look at all the junk they like, cook the foods they like, and know that I cannot eat it. I feel it only fair that I only have to prepare one meal.  Hubby can have his treats at lunch, he eats out every day that he works.  Miss J doesn't make the best of choices during her lunches at school either so in a way it is my job as mom to make sure that have at least one healthy meal a day at home.

Okay, that is about all I can handle for now.  The swelling is causing my eyes to be a little blurry and it is just too hard to concentrate long enough on the written words. LOL

100 postings

Well, since this is my 100th posting, it seems that this should be a really spectacular posting.

Not!

Nothing spectacular is going on in my life at the moment, in fact things are pretty crazy and in need of prayers.

First, my little elderly mother is having some "spells" and will not allow me take her to get them checked.  One of the workers at the community she lives in called the ambulance for her yesterday.  She refused to go to the hospital.  I get there to find her sitting in the lobby looking like a wilted rose, ambulance workers beside her, trying to convince all that she is just fine.  So...yesterday was spent driving back in forth across town to check on her.

Next, my sweet daughter in law is having a few problems with the pregnancy and has been put back in the hospital.  She will be there for at least two weeks unless the baby comes before that.  He is due August 24, but I suspect he just may come a little earlier.  Also, the way my son talked, they will induce the labor in two weeks if he hasn't come.  Bad thing is when they aren't at work, no pay.

Also, had a wonderful visit with my oldest daughter and two grand sons this past week.  I am already missing them so much.

For the last week it has been in the triple digits here, expected to be all week.  Our air conditioning is out.

On a positive note, the puppies are really starting to take on some personality.

Will be 3 weeks on Saturday.  I tell you it is so funny to hear a baby dog learning to bark and growl.  They kind of have to work up to it, not just coming out with the bark.  Kind of starts off soft and grows to the short bark.  Then of course they are surprised when it actually comes out.  We are not keeping any of them, but I have to say I do have a little favorite.

This little one is so laid back, so sweet, and already loves to be petted.  Will move it's head back to your hand for some more when you stop.  They aren't going to be very big, the momma dog looks to be at least part dachshund but with a little longer legs, think the father is a mixed terrier.  My son is bound and determine to make our mini pom the dad, but...how do I say this?  He just doesn't have the moves if you get my drift.  He tried...a lot...but it was always sideways across her mid back. LOL

With the heat, I am not doing any baking...sweets or meats...so the meal plans around here are what ever I can have the energy for.  I hope to get back on track with the menu planning over the week end, am also working on a schedule or list of tasks that need to be done around the house.  Have a list going also of things I want to try to cook.  Not meal wise, but things like making a batch of pasta, bagels, MYO mixes.  I definitely need to work on organization, but man this heat is just zapping me.  Our air conditioner is not working correctly for some reason, hubby moved the one from the garage in to the day room window.  It helps a little, but evaporate air units just don't work well when it is humid.  Which it has been (unusual for this area) because the monsoon season has started and we are having thunder storms build up along the mountains.  Here in the valley floor we won't get the rain, but it sure makes it muggy.

Also on a positive note, received a call today that I have been placed on a morning bowling league for the fall.  I had really wanted this, but had held back a bit as I had offered to watch the newest grand baby while his mom worked.  However, the mom's boss is letting her bring the baby to work with her.  Hubby said to just go ahead and make my plans then change them later if needed.  Of course for the first few months I can take him with me.  Then if I have to I will quit the league, but at least I can have a little time with the ladies.

Well, that's about it for now.  Check back in.  Oh yeah, I am joining in on a July Challenge from another blog, they are spending on groceries only what you would have if you were on assistance.  More about that on Monday, when I post my Monday Meal Plan.  I am also changing how I plan my meals so watch for that news as well.

Soup - Puppies

Last night we had Minestrone Soup. I just love Minestrone soup and am actually a bit picky when it comes to eating it. I set out to find a recipe that I thought tasted right. I am still going to try and get the recipe from Mom's dining room at her apartments, but this one is really good.  Just click on the link for the recipe over at cdkitchen which I just love their site.

Pesky shadow at the bottom again.  I took five different shots of this bowl, each from a different angle.  Still there, cannot figure what is causing it.  Any way, doesn't it look yummy?

I know that any recipe can be converted to use a slow cooker or crockpot, but for the first time on any recipe I like to make it exactly as the recipe states, with all the ingredients that it calls for.  Then, if I like it I will start adding my own little touches and tweaks.  That being said, I was forced to make a few changes in the original recipe, this is what changed.

I bought one large carton of vegetable broth, (32 oz) because it was absolutely all that Walmart had.  It was the Swanson's brand, which I rarely buy, but it was all they had.  No cans of vegetable broth, any brand, only this one carton.  Which was quite expensive. So, I added a can of chicken broth.  I have tons of that on hand at all times.  While at the store for the broth, I found Hunt's Fire Roasted Tomatoes.  OH MY GOSH! what a fantastic flavor.  So, I bought two cans of those for the soup using them instead of the one can of stewed tomatoes. I like lots of tomato so usually double it in all my soups and stews.  I substituted minced garlic when I found my whole garlic had to turned to black mush.  Must clean out the fridge today.  I used one onion instead of the two because not many around here eat them if they see them.  I found that I did not have any basil, so that was left out.  The last change in the original recipe was in the pasta, I used shell macaroni instead of spaghetti.  I have never seen minestrone served with spaghetti noodles and Olive Garden used the shells, so I bought a box of shells and used a little of that.  I did cook them separate and added the pasta to my bowl, not the pot of soup because I am hoping to jar up and process the left overs to put in the pantry for fall, recently found out that canning pasta is not good.  This will definitely go in to the keeper file.  Next time I serve it, I will grate off a little Parmesan cheese using the hand crank grinder I found in my cabinet.

Speaking of finds in the cabinet, I don't think I posted about my home made ice cream. I know I told some one about it, remember talking about the experience, but didn't see it on a post.  Don't have a photo, forgot to get that, I will next time I make it.  I was thinking about my dad, and we have finally started having rather warm temps (finally normal for this time of year) so went and bought the ingredients to make some ice cream. Since I was using my dad's old freezer, I used mom's recipe.

No Cook Vanilla Ice Cream
1 Lg. pkg. Vanilla instant pudding mix
1/2 c. sugar
1 Lg. can evaporated milk
1 can sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt
Whole milk
Mix together until dry ingredients are dissolved, pour into container and add milk to fill line. Process according to manufacturer's instructions.

Simple, you can easily change it by using that as a base and adding different flavors. Next time we will add some crushed Oreo cookies or peaches.  Am also going to try a batch using Splenda.

Now, that all being said, let me tell you what ended up happening.  First of all, the wooden case of the ice cream freezer leaked like a sieve. Guess it was all those years of setting.  I gave this freezer to my parents some where around 25 years ago.  Dad used it often, but he pasted away in 2003, doubt he used it for a few years before that.  Since it leaked, the drum didn't freezer properly.  It was actually really soft at the top, got a little better as we got to the bottom.  We ate it however.  I then put the left over in a plastic storage container and put it in the freezer.  WOW did it harden up in there.  Still nice and creamy texture.  Here is the weird part, it tasted like banana.  Not strong, just a hint.  I did not add any banana so have decided that banana pudding was put in a vanilla box.  Next time we make it, I will use our freezer which is molded plastic.  It has never been used, found it when I cleaned out some shelves in the garage.

On a sad note, one of the puppies died.  It looked like the momma dog sat on him.  Daughter J was just devastated.  I keep telling her not to get attached, we are not keeping a single puppy, but it is too late for that.  We are still not keeping any of them, but she has become quite attached to them, one in particular.

I have a mountain of clothes waiting for me to put up and need to get a bite to eat right quick.  Tomorrow is pay day and we are out of so many things, will be a big bill just in paper goods (foil, baggies, toilet paper, paper towels) so need to get my list and coupons together.  In fact, if I get them all hung up and put away, hubby will wonder what is wrong with me that the bedroom is cleaned up.  I want to work in the bedroom this morning while it is still tolerable temp wise, will move to the cooler kitchen for the afternoon.  Following the menu plan, will be making chicken salad for supper.  Asian chicken salad with mandarin oranges actually.  I am using the left over chicken from KFC we had on Father's day.  I need to use it up, don't want to waste it, and this batch had a little bite to it which will be really good in the salad.  Of course hubby won't like it, he feels it isn't cooking a meal unless I prepare a meat and several sides.  It is predicted to hit the triple digits today, so I am turning that stove on at all.  It will be running late tonight as I set it to clean.  Okay, so just don't tell the family unit that my menu plan for this week is designed to use up the left overs in the fridge.  Most times if I can re-purpose them they don't notice. I just don't understand this aversion to left overs.

Thanks for stopping by, leave me a note if you like.  I love knowing some one read this.  Come back and visit again soon.

Getting Better? Puppies

Took Miss J. to the doctor's on Thursday afternoon.  With an appointment, once again, was there almost 2 1/2 hours.  And it was a slow day.  I really like her doctor, but two things I don't like.  He has to visit way too much during the visit, loves to hand out referrals for PT.  Problem with PT is that with our co-pay it cost us $25 each visit, which is usually twice a week for about 10 weeks.  I do realize that therapy will help her heal up quicker, but that is a lot of money.  So...we will evaluate that need when we get there.  Kind of just wait and see how it goes.

It really does look like it is worse, but it is much better.  Swelling has gone down and she is able to put a bit of weight on it now.  I know that a lot of times bruising does always look much worse before it gets looking better.  Still going through the color change stages (you know, a little purple to more purple and red, then the green and yellow show up just before it starts fading) but thankfully it really is a minor injury.  Doctors have checked x-rays again and see no breaks or cracks, skin wound is shallow so no stitches is needed.  Praise God that she wasn't hurt as bad as she could have been.

On the home front, my little garden, emphasis on little, is surviving.  I have two tomatoes, each on a different vine.  I harvested one lone strawberry, it was terribly tart, but the three strawberry plants are doing the best and at least look good on the patio.

I have also moved my cookbook collection around.  Previously it was located in about three different spots because I just couldn't find an area to hold it all.  Maybe I have too many cookbooks?  NO NEVER!  At any rate, I am trying to round them all back up and get them located in one spot.

I have left an opening for some books I hope to find.  I know I have them, have just not been able to find them yet.  The top portion is mostly all of my "collection" cookbooks.  In other words, they were made for fundraising and members of that group have all entered their best or favorite recipe and their names appear with it.  I love these type of cookbooks, the recipes are always what I call TNT (Tried n True) so you know that it will be a success.  Also, you know that the recipe is a family favorite of that member, or family tradition (may have been grandma's), the recipes are for the most use normal ingredients with no fancy techniques (in other words, just plain old home cooking).  There are also some really old cookbooks from the 40's and 50's that are just fun to have around. I think one of my interesting cookbooks is the Fredericksburg Home Kitchen Cook Book published by the town of Fredericksburg, TX as an anniversary edition of the town.  It was first published in 1916, this book is actually the 10th edition of this cookbook and was printed in 1971.  However, the town has a strong German heritage and so does my mom's side of the family so there is a double link there to my attachment.  The bottom section is mainly the yearly collection of the favorite recipes for Quick Cooking magazine.  It is published as an annual hard back book and at one time we would receive it free as a gift from our church's financial organization for being a member. This used to be one of the magazines from Reimer Publications  back in the day and has since been morphed (along with a couple of other publications) in to the magazine Simple & Delicious of today.  Yes, I have subscriptions to it and Taste of Home, which I read over and over and usually add many of the recipes to my meal plans.  I have decided to look through all these cookbooks and start adding in a few recipes each week from them.  Gives the family a little change and myself a new perspective on some common foods.

In moving my collection and going through them, I also found several little pamphlet style cookbooks. You know, that came with an appliance or such.  Some were printed in the late 30's and 40's.  One is for a refrigerator and I am sure they were developed to entice the home cook to purchase the product by showing her what all she can make by using the appliance.  I often think how much pleasure a homemaker would have in making the change from an old fashioned ice box (that cooled with a block of an ice) to an electric refrigerator.  I admit I would love to live the simpler life of days past, but I do dearly love my modern appliances.

Finally, for the newest news of the family.  Hubby went out back to work with the pool pump and found a mess which led him to the whimpering of one of the dogs. This is what he found.

Momma dog had four puppies.  This is her first litter, will be her only litter as we plan to get her fixed after this.  All is doing well and she seems to be doing everything that she should.  We have moved her and the puppies inside for a few days though.

Sunday - Another week

Some how Sunday has become the start of my week instead of the end.  Not sure how, or when, it did, but it did.  At any rate, here we go with another week of cooking, cleaning, chores ... the same old rut.  Maybe I should look at it from a different perspective.  I should make a list of task that should be done this week.  Then, pick a day to have it all done by.  Decide on an inexpensive treat that I can give myself if I accomplish it.  The rest of the family has been treating me like I don't exist beyond their personal needs so why not give myself a treat, heaven knows they are treating their self often at my expense.  I know, enough whining, I will pray about it when I cleanse my heart at church today.

We didn't go camping this past week end, plan to go this coming week end.  So...I am changing my planned menu for the week and going to pretty much cook off of left overs and quick meals.  I am thinking I can make it until we get back from camping for my twice a month grocery shop.  However, I am going to take advantage of some really great sale prices to do some stocking up.  Tomorrow's MPM post will reflect my planned left over meal plan.  Shh, don't tell the family they are getting left overs.

I had a really disturbed night last night.  Trying to read between the lines of a text message I got.  I know that I am overly sensitive about such things, but I just can't help it.  Have past experience on my side with this one.  So, a little before midnight I took a shower and went to bed. I woke up at 1:30 to realize that no one bothered to see that the food was still out from supper.  I put the left overs in the fridge and put water on the dishes to soak them.  Rest of the morning from then on was spent trying to get a little more sleep, with out much success. Too much over thinking of the text.  At 5:15 I gave up and got up.  Did the dishes, made the coffee, took a roast out to thaw, gathered up the trash, took it all out, put the dumpster on the curb, played alarm clock for mom so she can wake up and get ready for church, took another shower and washed my hair (didn't do this last night because it always dries funny when I sleep on it wet), fixed my hair, prepared the roast in the crock and started it cooking, am now dressed and waiting for church.  Started this posting.

Whew.  I am already worn out.

I have said this before, but after last night and this morning am even more determined, this WHOLE house is getting cleaned and purged.  Since no one but me can even clean up a dish around here, then I am going to get the house set up for easy quick cleanings.  Actually, two days of cooking and cleaning dishes to prepare two weeks worth of meals is looking pretty good about now.

I pulled out some old cookbooks that I have collected along the way for some inspiration.  Funny thing, those older books, like the one from 1944, doesn't have a lot of beef recipes.  Has lots of chicken though.  Have done nothing but look at recipes all week end.  Funny thing, kind of got my mind in overload mode.  Everything just blends together so nothing makes sense, sounds good or even interested in trying.  I would really just like to go to sleep a while.  Can't do that though, if I went to sleep this early would end up waking up at ten tonight and not being able to go back to sleep.  Part of this...doldrums I am in...for lack of a better term, may be due to the fact that I have been watching old westerns yesterday and a Walton's marathon...on two channels.  I would dearly love to be able to back in time and live on that mountain.  Those characters, the life of the 30's and 40's, that house, would really love to have a little of that simplicity.

Speaking of houses, if I ever win the big lottery I am going to find the designs and build me a house like the boarding house in The Shootist.  What a wonderful old house with glass front cabinets in the kitchen, dinning room, parlor, all over the place, each and every room along with built in shelves and drawers.  I remember when my husband and I were looking for our first house we found this small home with carved molding and the bed rooms had built in drawers, big closets and built in shelves.  Such workmanship.  How I wanted that house, but it just needed way too much work to be livable.

Well, off to work on some household planning.  Thanks for stopping by.

What a week.

Another week gone. Where oh where did go? It feels like it just disappeared in to thin air. Two more weeks and the school year will be over, of course dear daughter Miss J will then start summer school right away. That means I will be driving her to school first thing in the morning, picking her up at noon, then take her back to school for volleyball, back to pick her up. If you lost count, that will be four trips to the school each day.

OH dear gas please drop your price just a little?

I spent time working on menu plans last night. Have decided to try a huge number of new recipes. I have been working really hard to organize my pages of recipes. Came up with a very detailed system. Will post more details about that later in the week. The bad thing about last week's menu plan is that it was not followed much. I got so busy with cleaning and purging that I just didn't stick to it much at all. Mid week we had a birthday dinner for oldest son, he picked the menu, and I just didn't even try to get back on track. Good thing about last week's menu plan is that I can just use it as a plan for this week, changing the days that were actually used. In other words, mostly a repeat of last week.

I had to take my mom to the ER today, while she has to stay at least over night, it is so very tiring to sit and wait. I took a couple of cook books and made to look over while I did wait. Pulled out my handy little notepad and made a list of all the recipes I want to try. Since this is a neat little OAMC cookbook, the plan is to prepare a few of these dishes during the week to put straight in to the freezer. Not to eat now, but later on. A lot of them are chicken recipes and I know my daughter in law likes chicken so will probably put some of them up to give her for when the baby comes. Hopefully it will make life a little easier for them. I know that when I had my babies I would have loved to have had meals already made just waiting to be popped in the oven. When my youngest, Miss J, was born, a dear friend from church brought over a whole meal for me. The church ladies also did that when my hubby had pneumonia. What a blessing.

Our church we go to now is so large that it would be impossible to do something like that for the members. We have a whole little club of ladies that cook for funerals though. Maybe it would be nice to see about being a part of that group. I think I need to find some way to connect myself to the church in more ways. Yes, I think I will make that my goal for the fall. Most every group is shutting down for the summer, but when it all starts back up in the fall I am going to try and join in a bit more.

I am ashamed of myself for spending money on a weight program that I just did not utilize to the fullest. I won't say that it was a waste, have lost about 8 pounds and have learned some valuable exercises to do on my own when I go back to the regular gym. It is kind of a long story, but I have this gym membership, love going to that gym, but had absolutely no idea what do, much less how to do any work outs. It is a great deal on the price that cannot be found any where else. Also, I am quite determined to throw some energy that way. Timing has been my problem with this additional program. I did the program to get access to trainers, but just could not get a good time which made it hard to get in to a routine. I am a person that needs routine. The time with a trainer has been scheduled, but the time I will spend at the gym is pretty much when ever. That will be helpful for me I am sure. I am actually planning that I can take Miss J to summer class then head straight for the gym and work out, head home to do a few chores then go get her. It just might work.

Well, thanks for dropping in for a visit. Guess I should get back to going through all the email, read a few blogs, then tackle another few feet of my desk top.

What a Crazy Week

What a crazy week. I am so behind on all my computer fun, a little behind on the house, but have had fun.

I didn't realize how much of my life is associated with computer use. My laptop is what I use to post to the blog, check my mail, read other blogs, look up things on the spur of the moment. It is so infected with virus critters that I cannot do a single thing with it. Pretty nasty little guys as one of them, or all of them, have managed to disable the anti-virus program so it cannot even begin to detect them to remove them. I have some photos on there that I need to save to CD, but have been afraid I would end up saving the virus as well. Hubby assures me this is not how it works, but I am still not sure. Checked in to getting it fixed, looking at $200.00 there. For $300 can get a brand new computer. The computer guy said that probably couldn't save any of the files on it, so why not just start from scratch?

The desk top computer has a few little issues, but is workable. No one much used it, mainly it is set up because that is where the wireless router is located. At any rate, when I bought a new computer desk for it, I did not get a user friendly one. It is physically painful to use for any length of time, like more than 10 minutes. I have my eye on a new desk set that is compact. You would not believe how many of the cheaper computer desk are not set up for towers. Guess that is soon to be a thing of the past. At any rate, the desk I am looking at has a little printer stand that comes with it and it is large enough to put the tower on. If I am going to get back in to scrapbooking, or even printing off of a photos, I need to set my printer/scanner where it is a lot easier to get to for scanning. It sits on a shelf now as it is a wireless printer, which works great for printing off calendars and recipes and letters, but not at all for scanning. It can be done, but I want to scan a lot of my mom's photos and standing on tippy toe to get the paper changed and photo on the scanner glass is just really not working. So...while hubby is gone this week, I plan to work on moving things around a bit in our bedroom and just putting the desktop and printer together in a corner like it used to be. I would like to have it in my craft room, but the main connection for the internet and the wireless set up cannot be moved easily and I can move my personal schedule around to work on any computer or photo needs during the day so not to disturb my hubby who goes to sleep way early.

My little grandson emailed me the cutest note the other day. My oldest daughter, his mom, set him up a little email account so we can write to each other. Of course, just as it gets set up, I loose my computer. But I will work with what I have and it will be fine. My poor little farm is probably all dried up since I have been spending little time on Facebook.

Along with all this chaos, I joined a bowling league that bowls on Fridays. Thankfully it is a short league, because I am not going to stay on for the next session. Soon it will be summer league season and I will find a league that plays on a different day of the week. Fridays are just good days for me to commit to being there, and you pay whether you are there or not. I am having a lot of fun with it though.

As for menu planning. I didn't this week and the funny thing is how off it feels. Kind of like I am a little unsettled because of it. Hubby has been gone again this week, thankfully this is a once a year thing, and I have been really lazy about the meals with just J and I. Eating out way too much, but I will make up for it and we have been really picky about the cost and nutrition of what we eat. Over the week end, I will get the menus and recipes caught back up. I can just pick up with what wasn't used and start there. Now that I have my freezer and pantry stocked up, pretty well any way, I plan to take a whole day and plan all of February out. Monster task, but I am up for the challenge. Now that I am getting the house back to the point where it is just keep up or maintain, it will go quicker with that as well. I am aiming for better time management so I can craft with out guilt. I tend to get focused in on what I am doing, okay obsessed, and knowing that I am really making an effort to multi-task the essentials. The plan is to spend the mornings with upkeep, afternoon with crafting, then dinner and taxi service, then have the evenings to continue working on what ever project I am working on. Along with the paper crafts I am back in to I hope to add in some fabric crafts (quilting, sewing, embroidery) which for some reason I am being resistant to jumping back in to. I am sure there is some deep psychological reason for this, but refuse to evaluate that area today.

Everything seems to be going fine now with my daughter-in-law and appears to progressing with the pregnancy well. New due date is August 17. Personally, I think they are off by about a month, but what do I know? Her birthday is tomorrow, so we are having a family dinner on Sunday evening to celebrate. It has always been a tradition to go out to eat somewhere for birthdays, choice of restaurant went to birthday person. The size of our family now has gotten it to where the cost has been over a hundred, some times close to two hundred dollars. I know that it has been a real treat for everyone, especially myself, to have those little outings, but that equates to half my monthly budget for just one meal. I made the decision, with great gratitude from hubby, to change over to birthday dinners being at our house. We are going to cook steak and trimmings for every one at a fraction of the cost, and quite frankly I am so spoiled to hubby cooking the steak that the ones at the restaurant just can't compare. Now that I am getting my kitchen all tricked out with great gadgets it will be a real joy to cook larger meals, even the smaller ones for that matter. I just wished that all the things on my wish list weren't so expensive.

With that said, I have to say I am looking forward to my pressure cooker arriving. I returned the defective one and bought a little higher model that had lots of great reviews. It is dual purpose, working as an electric Pressure cooker or Slow cooker which is a bonus, especially since my favorite crock is acting crazy lately, burning everything around the edges. I actually have a few crock pots in different sizes, but am down sizing a few things to make more space in the kitchen.

That about catches everyone up with what is going on around here. Oh, one more thing, next week a national educator is coming to the local scrapbook store and I am taking one of her classes. Her name is Jenn Star and she is with Ranger inks. The class is called Ink Boot Camp and will teach a variety of ink and embossing techniques. Great thing is that the project for the class makes a 6x6 mini-album that is a reference manual for what we will be learning. I love stamping and embossing, more than the other paper crafts, so am really looking forward to this. There was another class that is devoted to techniques, but due to cost I had to choose and this class description seems to be more of what I like doing.

I slept in a little later than usual this morning due to the foggy weather, school had another fog delay, and while it was nice it sure makes the day half gone already. So it seems anyway. Off of here and on to other things. Thanks for dropping in, come back often.

Friday - Organizing Process

My goodness, here it is already Friday and I have only accomplished about half of what I had on my list. But at least there is progress, so I will take it.

OH MY this is so frustrating. My keyboard is not working correctly, every few keystrokes are being dropped, more like never getting there. I guess I am typing faster than the keyboard can register.

At any rate. I am taking a break to post a few things. I have been doing a lot of sorting and purging of my kitchen. Well, related to running the kitchen at any rate. I have been following so many things over on I'm an Organizing Junkie. I wish I had half the drive and passion that Laura does. I am continually inspired by not only Laura by her followers as well.

If you have been following my little blog, you already know that I am part of MPM, and am working on not only intending to plan the meals out each week, but actually putting it in writing. There are hundreds of fellow bloggers, although I am no where close to the same league as they are, that all post their menu plans as well, reading over them gives a person great ideas and some great recipes. Eventually I will add recipes to my postings, I just need to get it all together a bit more. Look back to here for my weekly menu.

Another great segment on Laura's blog is the 52 Weeks of Organizing. Each Friday she shares organizing ideas and other bloggers post what they are doing to get organized as well. I love all the creative ideas. There are also some great free printables to be found on the site as well. I caught some inspiration for my overwhelming collection of recipe print outs, cut out of magazines, cookbooks and just family shared that are written out. Before, I could not find the recipe I wanted that is one of the family favorites, couldn't even decided on what to cook that night for the meal much less think ahead for the next day. As a result, meals were thrown together and while they were edible, not very enjoyable. I used some tips from various blogs and here is how my organizing went for the week.

I needed to buy groceries and stock my freezer and pantry so I could actually get back to cooking. I couldn't even plan the day's meal because I had no meat to cook. So I thought, so I cleaned out the freezers to see what I could fine.











Was I ever shocked when I finished sorting and purging. I found enough chicken to feed this family every night for about six weeks. Found a couple of roast, package of steaks, some sausage, bacon (4 packages) and an assortment of vegetables along with a small treasure of processed single dinners for my lunches and such. I was elated. Meat is the most expensive part of the budget. I started a grocery list, did need some ground beef and pork. My family would rebel at chicken every night. Okay, then I moved on to the pantry.

Here are before and after photos of the spice cabinet, yes cabinet as I am a collector of spices and my hubby is obsessed with trying new ones. Besides, have no idea what else I would do with that little small cabinet right by the stove.


And, yes, those spices just sat all over the counter because there was no room in the cabinet. I purged out all the old spices. They don't really expire, but will loose their strength. If I opened the bottle and could not smell the spice, it went in the trash. I also had about two dozen old metal Schilling brand tin cans that still had paper price tags on the bottom. I am pretty sure that I cannot buy a big tin can full of Anise for .67 any more. I also had spices that I know where purchased when I first married, almost 30 years ago.











Here are the before and after pantry cleaning and organizing. I had so much empty space, that the after photo includes all the canned goods and such I bought when I got this bill of groceries. The pantry is the thorn in my side when it comes to this kitchen. I have a huge problem with little tiny brown moths. I will say it used to be worse, it was almost enough to drive me insane as I would walk in to the kitchen at night and hit the light to be swarmed by them. My only redeeming thoughts were that at least they weren't roaches or mice. At any rate, I found some pantry moth traps at Home Depot and those things are just awesome, true sanity savers. You see, they lay eggs that are about the size of a pin head, are sticky, and seem to melt through what ever they are attached to. Then the eggs drop through in to the box of flour, cereal, gelatin, pasta, anything and every thing. The eggs then hatch in to little larvae that look like maggots, which then spin a sticky web to hide in until they turn in to the little brown moth and start the whole thing all over again. It is always so disheartening to end up throwing away boxes of cake mixes, crackers, even rice. Long ago I took to putting most things in plastic containers, but they still get in. Well, you get the idea.

Now that I have my freezer all sorted, the spices and pantry done, had already done the fridge last week, I was then able to make a grocery list. But wait I thought, I should have some idea of what I am cooking for the next couple of weeks before I head out. I dumped all my recipes in the floor of my cave (what my hubby calls my sewing/craft room) along with my list of ingredients on hand. I was immediately overwhelmed. I quickly just pulled off about five favorites that I knew my daughter would eat. Hubby has been gone all week, so knew I could eat pasta and fish and such. I then just pulled together a more common grocery list of things I knew I was out of (because I had just cleaned the pantry out) that I use a lot of. It worked well so far.

Last night, I began sorting and purging recipes. Still have way more to go through. Also have my cooking magazines and cookbooks to go through as well. First I sort by what is TNT (tried and true) that are family favorites, then recipes I want to try sooner as opposed to someday. Then I sorted that down to meats and sides in one folder and desserts and breads in another. Once I get through all the sorting I will do a more precise sorting. I have MasterCook software on my computer and I plan to take advantage of that. I can enter the recipes (to get rid of all the pieces of paper laying out) then will save them in to a cookbook (the name of a file folder in the program) for just meal plans. I can then use the functions in the program to plan a menu, print the recipes for that meal, and it will even generate a grocery list based on the menu plan. If I really get it together, I can enter what I have on hand in to the pantry list and will check to see if I have it on hand before adding it to the shopping list. All that is farther down the road than I can realistically get to at the present, so I needed to go ahead and plan out a few weeks of of meals now.

With some ideas from a few other blogs and determining a system that would work for my way of thinking, I came up with a pretty organized little easy set up. While looking back and forth, literally across the store, through the scrapbook and school/office supplies, I found this really cool report cover.

It has a bound edge, a clear front, a clear pocket on the opposite side to keep the paper edges in for additional protection. So, I got on the computer in Excel and created a blank monthly calendar. Each week is color coded, to make it easier for the way our life works I started the week with Monday. A small open circle is in each day so I can add the corresponding date. Lines are included for writing the main dish and sides in. Now here is my creative twist. The report cover has two metal prongs to load the papers on so I can put a calendar page and all the recipes together. When I first started this, I had it in my mind that I would just use a dry erase marker and write it all in on the report cover, which wipes off easily for the next month. However, I have since decided that I will just print off one each month and just write on it with pen and note if I actually followed the plan. That will give me a record of what I made when, what was a hit and what wasn't and how long it has been since I cooked a favorite dish. Don't want to burn the family out on hamburgers. Now, I found this square cork bulletin board for pretty cheap at Walmart. When I purchased it, was going to laminate the calendar blank and use it with wipe off pens. I might eventually go to that, but felt that for just starting off this would work better for me and retain more usable information to keep me organized now that I am getting it all together. Besides, loved the little close pin clips. I just attached a piece a ribbon across it and just like hanging clothes.

Next, I wanted something that the family could look at and see what was for supper that night. You know I have a bit of an attitude from time to time so when they would ask "What's for super?" I would answer "food!" and go on with what am doing. Originally I had thought that I could make a version of a scrapbook page that permanently had the days of the week on it, a few lines beside it to write in the the main and sides, write in if we were going out or something that evening. It would be laminated so I could write in and wipe off the meal plans and activities. Would then put that on the fridge. Instead I found this cheap plastic easel type photo frame, and just used Excel to create blanks to load in the frame. I think it is a good idea.

In fact, I am going to purchase an extra easel frame to hold recipes while I am cooking. Easy hands free way of having the recipe in easy view.

The blanks are cheap to print off and then fill in. Eventually, I will get to the point to where I can just pull out the old menus, see what was liked, what wasn't and just recycle the meals. It will sure go quicker when It is all entered in the computer and I can just select the recipes for the menu plan, generate and print off the grocery list for those recipes and be done. It is a goal any way, after all, eventually I want to have the house organized so I can take the time to work on, and find the supplies I need, my hobbies. Maybe schedule it in like we do Miss J. and her ice skating lessons, Awanas, and such. I have scrapbooking on one day, laundry on one day, sewing on one day, weekly cleaning a day, quilting another day. Maybe then I will have time to do the things I want to do. Some things, like writing, blogging, reading or such are more of daily needs, but if I can get it all organized around the house, I can possibly set aside a few hours each day for the things I enjoy. Especially with the prospect of starting a little sewing business up. If I don't get my organized enough to keep the house up once it is all in order it will just not be possible to start up the little business for myself.

Also, have not been able to stick with the menu plan to well this week, but have been able to cook up a meal at home, so no expense of eating out. That is exceptional for me, what with hubby being out of town all week. Shows me that I can do it for the week that he will be gone again. We went last night an got Miss J her new glasses, which actually came in on Monday but no one from the optical called to tell me.

She is so happy to have them. She picked the frames out herself and made the comment to a friend how nice it was to be able to read the signs in the mall and be able to read the price tags. Poor kid, inherited my wonky eye sight, one eye near sided, one eye far sided. I remember getting my first pair of glasses (silver teardrop wire frames) when I was the same age as her.

The photo was taken with my new Samsung Galaxy phone. Still have a lot to learn with that thing.

Well, enough for today, I am off to move the laundry around and then back to sorting through my recipes. I am feeling really rough today so am just hanging around the house. Tomorrow is the scrapbook store's crop and bunco night and I am so looking forward to that. Probably more the bunco than the crop. The ladies at the crop are kind of snobby. I have learned however, that I am only going to work on one project. Taking only the essentials to work on that one project. I started a chipboard album for my mom and never finished it, have all the photos laid out on the pages, the papers as well as little do dads to add here and there. I am sure I will have to purchase a few things at the crop, but I am not going to overload myself again by taking so many things to work on that no progress is made at all. I will post the project on Monday. In the mean time, today will be laundry and working with the recipes. It will be a nice accomplishment just have my boxes of recipes all sorted and in one box. I have a plastic container with hanging files in it that I have designated for the use of cooking. In other words, recipes, menu plans, blanks for all of that, and the past ones. Any recipe I cook that doesn't turn out, doesn't go over with the family, will be tossed. I so look forward to being able to find what I am looking for instead of going place to place hoping to find what I am looking for.

Thanks for dropping in and have great day.

Organize for blessings.

OH MAN, WHAT BLESSINGS, thank you dear Lord.

I am cleaning out my freezers, which was on my to-do list but wanted to do it while hubby was gone, and defrosting the deep freeze. Here is how it goes. I have a medium size upright freezer that holds the bulk of my hoarding, I mean stock pile, which sits in the garage. Also in the garage we have a small fridge with a freezer on top. This was essential to take advantage of California's stupid way of pricing milk. If you buy two of the same kind of milk, you get the second one for like a dollar. When the boys were home, I would go through about 8 gallons a week so we would buy 6 gallons at a time, putting one in the house fridge and the others in the extra fridge. Now we are down to about 3 gallons a week with only daughter J. at home with us. Now it holds a lot of beer and a little extra produce. I am hoping to use it less for actual food as I always forget what I have out there and it goes bad. WE WASTE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FOOD. It is just shameful and I have vowed to make changing that a top priority. Any way, then we have the side by side in the kitchen. Not the largest one they make, but the largest that will fit in the wall space. If you are keeping up, that equates to 5 laundry baskets of food items to go through (making a list of what I have as I go along to make it easier to keep up with what I have on hand) and the Schwan man is making a very small delivery today. I didn't order much this time as I wanted to see just exactly what I do have on hand. I will be writing about my little experience today as I take breaks from sorting and waiting for the freezer to defrost. I would use a heat gun, but there is just something about standing that close to water with something electrical in hand.

By the way, if you would please say a prayer for my sweet daughter in law, she is 8-10 weeks pregnant and on bed rest. The doctor thinks her body is trying to miscarry. This is there first child and they have been so excited.

Off to work a little more.

My hands are numb, but the job is done. To my utter amazement, the only meat I really need to buy is ground beef and pork chops. My grocery list is really shrinking. YEAH! Now, to load it all back in, get a bite to eat and warm up, take a pair of shoes to my daughter, then the pantry is next.

Didn't have to take the shoes, school called and daughter is ill so just picked her up. Drove to Grocery Outlet to see about some dog beds they advertised on sale. Naturally they were out and no rain checks. My poor little mutt Tater Pup (the old man himself) is trying to squeeze himself on to a dog coat that was left laying on the patio. The cement is so cold, the weather is pretty cold, well extremely cold for this area. My mom had an old blanket that finally fell apart (well the nap fell off in places) and she had given it to me for the dogs to sleep on. I cut it in to four pieces and put it on the patio. Dumb me was thinking one piece for each dog. NO WAY! Tater has taken all of it over, growling at anyone that comes close. Oh well, he deserves it.

Spent the rest of the afternoon and evening cleaning out the pantry. I always hate that job because it really irritates me and saddens me when I look at all the food I am having to throw away. A lot of money in the trash. I just can't seem to get rid of those pesky tiny brown moths, which lay eggs, that hatch into little maggot looking larvae, capable of drilling a hole in to most any type of package and eating it up while leaving a huge sticky web like cocoon to live in while it turns in to a tiny brown moth, that lays eggs and it starts all over again. The job is complete at any rate and I am totally worn out. The great thing is now I know what I have, and more important don't have, to work with so can now get my list updated and go buy some groceries. I have been buying a day or two worth of groceries at a time and it has been killing me. I hate going to the store, don't really much care for shopping unless it is for craft supplies, so I do a big bulk trip twice a month. Now I am ready to shop knowing that I have 5 packages of icing and no cake mixes. I know I could make my own cake with out a store bought mix, but I don't mind paying for that convenience at all. It really is amazing how something so full it was keeping the cabinet doors from closing completely can be cleaned, organized and look so empty.

I should have cooked, had it all planned. Schwan man dropped off this morning, thought I had ordered tamales, but didn't. As I mentioned earlier, my daughter in law is on doctor's orders to take it easy and stay in bed as much as she can until they figure out if she is going to miscarry. I am praying that it all comes out with both of them healthy, but must admit am so excited at the prospect of another grand baby to play with. Any way, I decided to take a pizza over to them, so naturally picked one up for Miss J. and I as well. I have been working on the freezer and kitchen since 7 this morning, I deserve it. I will cook tomorrow.

I am dead on my butt, but it is a good kind of tired because it is a result of some positive energy use. Now, tomorrow's plan is to pull the leaves from my dining table and put them up until needed, sweep and mop the floors, put up the laundry in my bedroom, take J. to her skating lesson then go from there. But for now, I am heading off to shower and jump in bed.

Thanks for stopping in and I will let you know how things are going with all my challenges and list of things to do.

Tuesday

I think I will have to re-think my schedule a bit. I now know that some things are workable on some days and some just aren't going to happen. Although, yesterday was a unique situation. I totally blew my time yesterday. I had so many things planned and doubt I will be able to make it up today. I will do my best though. As I said, things weren't the normal yesterday or today or that matter, but I need to learn to adapt and roll with the flow.

Yesterday I started out on time, but then got side tracked at the DMV with renewal of two of our vehicles. OH DOES IT GRIPE ME to have to pay that huge amount of money to the state that has no idea or interest in managing their funds responsibly. I will not head off in to that direction or comment on the spike in gas prices. The delay at the DMV was just enough to hit mom's place a little later than I wanted. Then, spent the better part of an hour playing detective to find out where a funeral in Texas was being held and send some flowers. OH MY GOSH, I cannot believe how expensive that has gotten. My only thought at those prices was the hope that because we will be right here in town when mom passes that the flowers may start out little cheaper than they are ordering by phone. So now, a little over two hours behind schedule, it is time for mom to go eat. She ask me to go with her. I knew she was needing a little company due to death of a dear friend. He was actually my dad's cousin, but growing up they were constantly together, just like brothers. Their mother's were sisters. Any way, then by the time we got our food and ate I had lost another hour and a half. Service is very slow at mom's dining room. Now, three and half hours behind I finally was able to start taking down her Christmas decorations. For someone that didn't want to put up anything, she put up quite a bit. That at least went pretty much as planned thanks to mom putting away here ornaments while I did the rest. Then she asked me how much she owed me. LIKE I WOULD ever charge her for helping her do anything?

I left the house a little after 9, got back a little before 3. I didn't post here yesterday, but did get my link made to MPM. At least I am making baby steps forward.

Last night I tried two new recipes. One I followed, the other I improvised due to lack of some of the ingredients. While they were both edible, they weren't great. The Savory Pork Chops were actually pretty darned tasteless. Last night I had determined to toss that recipe, but today I think I will put it in the "Try" stack again and try it one more time with better meat. I am trying to use up what I have in the freezer and am sure those chops had been in there for a long while. The fried onions used for the coating was a little stale as well. In all fairness, I do believe that fresh ingredients will make a world of difference. The rice dish was a total failure. Well, not total, as it was edible, just not great. Also, I made rice for four servings. If I had made only 2 servings there would not have been so much left. I wasn't thinking that by the time I added in the bacon bits, mushrooms and almonds it would make it go further. I am putting the recipe for that rice dish back in the "Try" pile because due to lack of ingredients it was nothing similar to the recipe. We also had green beans that were left over from Christmas dinner. They were still delicious, but threw out the left overs as it had been a week already. That is my new limit for left overs. ONE WEEK - period. Speaking of which, this morning I have got to get what is left of the ham in the freezer. I will pack up some slices, but since most of the recipes I want to try out with the left over ham call for it to be chopped or diced have decided that I will go ahead and do that and then bag up in portions for one meal. Hubby will be gone all next week and since daughter J. eats about anything I put in front of her I have planned that week all recipes to use left over ham and turkey. The plan today is to tackle some laundry and defrost and clean out the deep freezes. I have one medium size deep freeze we keep in the garage, usually where the bulk of the meat goes, I stock up when I catch a sale. I have a huge side by side in the kitchen so have that small freezer and then hubby has a small fridge in the garage for beer, he used to brew his own, which I use part of for extra milk and such. It has a small top freezer as well. It was full of the 22 pound turkey that fed us well at Christmas, so it has space now as well. I have decided to use it for chicken.

I am picking J. up at lunch and we both have eye appointments today. Was so pleased that I was able to get us both in at the same time. I won't need my eyes dilated, just need to see about an adjustment in my prescription. It has been three years since this last pair of glasses. However, they may have to dilate my daughter's, which will be kind of awkward with her skating lesson this evening. Will just have to play that one by ear. At any rate, because of her lesson, I planned ahead for a fast fix meal and will be using left over sausage that is already cooked and left over potatoes that I had put in the freezer. Again, won't be the greatest tasting, but will be absolutely edible. Although, I have some ground beef that needs to be cooked, really soon, so I may pop in the grocery to pick up a cornbread mix to make the Tamale Pie tonight. Just switch today and tomorrow's menu plan.

I have to say, yesterday on Facebook I posted an old photo of my husband from our first year of marriage. Our church hosted a halloween potluck at the barn of one of the members, went dressed as Raggedy Ann, he was a fairy. OH MY GOSH! Blond curly wig, star tipped antennae, pink leotard, pink tights, pink tutu, even make up and a wand. It was so funny to see this guy with a mustache in this outfit, chest full of hair showing through. He didn't know that I had posted it so he finally came and ask me what was going on because he was getting all kinds of comments posted. They show up on his phone through email notification. It was hysterically funny and I needed that laugh.

Thanks for stopping in for a visit, leave a comment if you like. This isn't getting the chores done so am off to see what I can get done before I have to go pick up J. and then the eye appointments.

Menu Plan Monday

So far so good with staying on task. Of course it is only the second day of the year, but hey, am batting 1000 for the year so far.

I have spent the entire afternoon and evening trying to organize my stacks of recipe pages only to realize I have a whole bunch of them missing. They are in a box somewhere, just have to run across them in this house, which I will eventually. The down side to that is that those are the TNT recipes (tried and true - family endorsed as keepers).

There is this awesome blog site called I'm An Organizing Junkie that host Menu Plan Monday. Hundreds of links to blogs that all menu plan and post their week of menus each Monday. It is a great resource for gathering ideas and just inspiration for the chore of making meals. Like so many of you, I get stuck in a rut when it comes to cooking. Either because I just can't think of something to fix, my family's limited taste buds (okay, they are just a bit picky and spoiled) or I just flat forgot to set out any meat. My challenge at the moment is to use up what is on hand until pay day, and this is the lowest I have ever been on meat. I didn't even begin to work on cleaning out the pantry today because the weather turned gloomy again and spent a very peaceful afternoon and evening listening to the rain pour down, going through recipes and watching the Food Network. I would love to take some cooking classes and learn how to do some of that stuff. Now tomorrow morning I will go to my mom's apartment and pack up all of her Christmas decorations. I am sure it will take longer than anticipated, seems it always does, so will not be able to do much around here. Hopefully, Tuesday will be spent cleaning out the pantry, spice cabinet and freezers. They I will be all set to buy groceries and know more of what I need and already have.

In keeping with the Monday Menu Plan, here is what I will be cooking this week.

M - Savory Pork Chops, Green Beans, Rice, Fruit Salad
T - Sausage With Peppers & Onions, Potatoes Au Gratin
W - Tamale Pie, Salad
Th - Pinto Beans, Cornbread
F - Chicken Enchiladas, Rice
S - Hamburgers, Chips
Su - Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Rolls

As I said earlier, I will get groceries later in the week when we get paid. Except for the roast, I know I have everything on hand for all the meals. I plan to better spread out the beef, pork and poultry and introduce some fish at least twice a month. I wanted to give the family a break from poultry, after two turkey dinners. No meat left over from Thanksgiving, but a lot from Christmas. I bagged the turkey up into meal size packets which I will use later in the month, tomorrow will bag up the ham in the same manner. I plan on using the ham bone later in the week when I cook the pinto beans. I also need to plan a couple of quicker meals or crock pot meals for the busy evenings. Daughter J has ice skating lessons once a week as well as her involvement with helping at Awanas at our church each Wednesday night.

A few weeks ago I had purchased an electric pressure cooker that was on sale. After thinking it over a few days I have decided I will return it to the store. I have a stove top PC that I think I need to learn how to use instead of spending money on something so similar to what I already have. Besides, I will be purchasing a steamer and deep fryer with my Christmas cash that I will need to find room for as it is. I also have my eye on a stand mixer and am going to take note of how much I would actually use it over the month. Feel I need to really justify my purchases since I know longer work. My birthday is coming up in Feb. so if I can't talk my hubby in to an XBox Kinect maybe I can talk him in to the mixer. I want to start doing Zumba at home where no one can see how ridiculous I look, need Kinect to play it. Have heard from a lot of people how much fun the Kinect is as you really have to do a lot of movement in the games.

Today was pretty productive though in part though, woke up early so emptied the dish washer, did the dirty dishes, started some laundry, filled the hummingbird feeder - twice (don't ask) and then of course the whole recipe mess as well.

Tomorrow everything goes back to normal, in other words hubby will be up early for work and will have to get J up and off to school as well. I am heading to the warm bath and then to bed early for a change. Well, early for me. Thanks for stopping by and come back to see me soon.

A New Year Begins. 2011

Wow, 2011. That is such a foreign concept although I know it is a reality. I am going to date myself here, I graduated in 1980. Had my oldest daughter in 1982. I remember her kindergarten graduation when the teacher introduced us to the class of 2000, my mind was thinking how far off that sounded. Now she is married, mom to two boys, a teacher and had her ten year reunion this past summer. Now it is 2011 and in one way it still sounds like some futuristic movie that I am watching. In another way, it sounds so normal.

Tonight, I made the traditional, for our family, meal. Ham, black eyed peas, potatoes. It started out as a meal for 11, then went to 10, then went to 8, down to 6, ended up as four. I went from worrying the ham wasn't big enough to suddenly going through ideas on how to get rid of a lot of extra ham. Not a problem I assure you, I am up for the challenge. My new organized self has planned on putting meal size portions in to bags and sealing them up and putting them in the freezer. Have already printed off a couple of great sounding recipes for ham. I did the same thing with the turkey, except I used Ziploc bags and have decided to re-bag them using the vacuum sealer to cut down on freezer burn. Am also going to buy a permanent pen for writing on the bags what it is and the date. Also, along with my resolve to change the way we eat, I did cook a bit differently. I made potatoes au gratin (which according to the cooking shows like Top Chef, I have been pronouncing wrong my entire life) from scratch. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but after almost 30 years of marriage this is the first time I haven't bought a box and cooked the little dried up potatoes in the microwave (oven years ago, but I go with the flow of the times). I am sure it was not the most healthy, with the cheese, butter, and milk, but I know that it was fat free cheese and 2% milk and no additives. I had quite a bit left over, but it was already in the oven when I found out the number for dinner had gone down to four. I did put it in a plastic container and threw it in the freezer. Now I have a side dish for future use. Maybe I will turn it in to cheddar potato soup?

For a little note of interest about my menu planning efforts. I am determined to plan the meals. This has been a very daunting task for me if not completely overwhelming. I sat down and gave it several serious moments of contemplation on just how to actual start the process. Paper and pen in hand, I numbered the page one to five. Week ends are just weird around here, so I figure 5 days of meals, one day to clean out left overs, the last day for what ever happens. That is a week. Using the 5 system, skipping a line between each group, I then jotted down the numbers for four sets of 5, which would be four weeks. I started writing out the meals I make that I know are liked. OH MY GOSH, suddenly I have not only the four weeks I started out with, but an extra week as well for a list of 5 weeks worth of meals. Now, tomorrow I will sit down and work on spreading them out a bit so I don't end up with 4 days in a row of chicken. I also want to throw in some recipes that I have not made before in an effort to try out some new flavors or foods. Maybe even try a new technique once in a while.

As for accomplishments for today, all the Christmas decorations are now gone from sight. I am sure glad that is done. Monday will go over and do the same for my mom. I also got the fridge all cleaned out today as well. Trash pick up is on Monday so want to get as much out as possible even though our dumpster is full.

We came home on Friday to find that our jerk neighbors had thrown a big bag of their trash in our dumpster because theirs was full. Of course it was full they are constantly having parties (until all hours of the morning) and there is at least 12 people living there on a regular basis, another 5 or 6 come in and out so much they might as well live there. My normally sweet natured hubby was so perturbed that he pulled the bag out and threw it in there yard. After a few minutes to calm down, he felt guilty for his actions and went to retrieve the bag and deposit by their trash dumpster which was literally overflowing. It had already been picked up by someone in the house. I told him not to sink to their level, lead by example, and of course he agreed. We were punished in the end though with the very rude awakening to the sound of fireworks sounding off close to our bedroom. He felt they were doing this on purpose, I explained calmly that they weren't because they didn't care enough to even have a seconds worth of thought as to how we would feel about being woke from a sound sleep but such a deafening sound, not to mention the cackler that laughs like chicken hen or the idiot man that likes to drop the f-bomb loudly and often. The one thing I truly do not understand about our neighbors and these parties that start up at like eleven at night is how they can do that to those little children living there. During warm weather, it would be midnight and we could hear the laughter, splashing, and every bounce on that diving board. We won't even get started on what a Foosball table sounds like at one in the morning with 4 to 6 drunk idiots playing it on the back patio which happens to be directly across from our bedroom.

Tomorrow's agenda:
Write out a week's worth of meals and make sure I have the ingredients on hand.
Clean out he freezer and cabinets so I actually know what I have on hand.
Wash towels.

Well, here's to starting the year off on a positive not. You have to live with what you have so make what you have priceless. Thank you for dropping in.

Where Has The Year Gone?

Okay, so I am on Pacific time, so technically it is still 2010 here. It kind of blows the mind to think about the time zone thing because here on the west coast it is New Year's Eve and across the globe it is already half way in to New Year's Day. Of coarse on the east coast it is barely New Year's Day. Then again when you sit back and look at the "Great Big Picture" time is only relevant in the way you look at it. I suppose there are some that are glad the year is finally over, then there are some, like me, that can't believe the year is over.

I wanted to post one last time in 2010 as I have sat here this evening and debated in my head the directions I will and will not allow my emotions to lead me. Now everyone makes resolutions for the new year with the greatest of intentions, some are successful, most are not. But we all mean well, so it is kind of a cosmic joke about making those resolutions, and I have a list for myself as well. So, to keep myself accountable, here are a few of mine. Like I said, I am looking at things a bit differently presently so it just might be all accomplished.

I WILL NOT think about the 95 pounds I need to loose. I WILL work to loose 10 pounds in January. I will not think about how much I did not get the gym and will strive to go to the gym once a week in January.

Okay, when from this point forward, when I say this month, I refer to January.

I WILL NO LONGER have a pity party for myself. I WILL find time once a week to work on some type of project that makes me feel happy again.

I WILL NOT look at how dirty and chaotic this house is. I WILL clean, de-clutter and purge through each room of this house, completely ceiling to floor, one room a week.

I WILL NOT feel bad because I failed to post to my blog for months. I WILL make an effort to blog more often. The goal is once a week.

I WILL NOT start a new project. May write down the plan and a few notes about it, but not start it. I WILL finish one of the many projects I have left in various states of progress each month. It would literally take about 5 years at that rate, but when I finish one, will start the next until each one is finished. Maybe I can hit on some projects that are already nearer to completion from time to time so that I can possibly get more than one a month, but I will get at least one a month completed.

I WILL NOT overwhelm myself with planning months of menus. I WILL plan a month of menus for January.

I WILL NOT purchase any food (excluding essentials of milk and bread) until I know what I have in the house. I WILL clean out and reorganize the pantry, fridge and freezer.

I WILL NOT purchase any fabric or scrapbook supplies until I just have to have it. I WILL use what I have first.

You get the idea.

The recommended amount of weight loss is 2 to 2.5 pounds a week. I figure that 2.5 a week, four weeks a month, I should be able to manage 10 pounds a month. With a change in eating habits and exercise that is. There fore, actually going to the gym that I am paying for each month, menu planning for different way of cooking and eating will be essential.

In the interest of time, since I want to actually post this before midnight, I will close with a wrap up and go in to more details in the days to come. Now that I have literally I been worked on top to bottom, I want to get back to my hobbies, that of sewing, quilting, crochet, scrapbooking, and such. I am making myself a vow to work as much as I possibly can with all the supplies that I already have on hand. My oldest daughter visited for the week and one day worked on some scrapbook pages for her grandmother's (my mom) book. I showed her the supply closet, she told her hubby about it and he called me a paper hoarder. I told her I am just well stocked. May need a few little interest do dads, but will get the pages or cards done and then see if I really need anything else.

Same with my pantry. I read on one of the blogs I follow about an organized pantry challenge and I am all up for that. After doing the holiday cooking I realized I have spices from when I first married in my cabinet. I found the jar of pimentos, I spent 20 minutes looking for before deciding to leave it out of the recipe, after the dish was half way cooked. My cabinets need to be cleaned and organized so I know what I have and what I need in order to cook meals around here. I can honestly say that I could probably cook for two months off of what is in my cabinets, wouldn't be the family favorites, but they wouldn't starve either.

I also enjoy writing and want to get back to that as well. I realized this past week that I won't die, nor will anyone else, if I don't get on Facebook and Farm Town. While I enjoy the game, and reading what my friends and family post, I also came to realize that while I was mentally complaining that I didn't have time to work out at the gym, I some how found hours a day to play the game. Hence, I am writing down schedules of my time for what and throwing in a checklist to get the house cleaned and kept clean as well.

Enough blubbering about for one night. I am off to a warm bath and then plan to see the New Year in with a goodnight prayer and falling fast asleep.

Yes I know, I lead such an exciting life. Seriously, here's to a God filled and blessed year to come. Taking it one day at a time, one task at a time.

Pop on back over from time to time and see what I am working on and how I am doing on keeping my resolutions. In the mean time, thanks for stopping in and fill free to leave a comment.

Good evening.

Well, it is late at night, but good night always sound like I am heading off to bed. Not quite there yet. LOL

Oh my, I have been having such a busy week. Did some shopping over the week end, bought some new patterns and a dress form. JoAnn's was having a big sale, Simplicity patterns were 5 for $5 with a limit of 10, so took daughter in with me and let her by the extras. LOL I also was so lucky to receive an 80% off scratch off spot on my coupon that was on the mailer. I was so surprised at such a large discount, I used it to by my new dress form. I think it will be a huge help to have since I am now sewing for three people. I just hate trying to stand in front of the mirror to judge if something is fitting or not. Have always wanted a dress form, I remember the one my mom used to have years ago. They are much nicer now, easier to adjust the sizing. They were out of the large, which doubt it would have had my fat waist measurement anyway, but the medium size form's range easily adjusts to my bust and waist, as well as all of daughter's measurements. I figure it will be a little bit of incentive...I plan to put some padding on the waist to increase it out and the goal is to reduce it as I reduce mine. That will be a great day when I can decrease the measurement.

When I went to work full time, it became obvious I would not have time to sew. I threw a private pity party and packed away all my machines and fabric. The bins of fabric have been sitting in the garage for a few years, was sure most of it would need to be thrown away as we have had a rat problem. To my surprise and a few "Thank you God" praises sent up, it was all in great shape. I was even elated to find that I had actually saved so much fabric for garment construction. Was sure I had gotten rid of all of it when I gifted out about 10 big black trash bags of fabric when hubby told me to decrease it or loose all of it. At any rate, I have some beautiful pieces that will be just perfect for some of those vintage patterns (re-releases of retro or vintage patterns but at today's sizes) that I have recently bought. I also have been organizing a bit in the sewing room as I took the time to make a master list of each pattern, the size, and brief description. Am actually contemplating scanning each pattern and saving to disc so I can print out my own little catalog to decide what I want to sew with what fabric with out spending hours hunting through everywhere to find it.

I have made menu plans for the next three weeks, have to tweak them a bit tomorrow, but now have a grocery list and will do that shopping tomorrow. This will be a very busy week for us. School starts tomorrow so will be taking daughter off to her first day of high school, women's bible study starts back up at church, a woman's group gathering later in the week as well. Of course football starts as well too and that means that I become a single parent/football widow/woman on her own until after the playoffs around the end of November. I LOVE this time of year, because my time becomes my own while everyone else is doing their thing. Also, this will be my first fall season not working in a long time and I will be able to just putz around in the sewing room after I get laundry going and the evening meal in the works. It also means that I will have some free time to go back to gym on a regular basis. I hope to drop at least two sizes by my birthday, or next summer for sure. My over all goal is three sizes, which I know will take a while, but I got time. Just need to work my butt off, literally as well as figuratively. Now, if it will just turn to fall temperatures, still in high 90's and expecting it to hit 106 mid week, I will be just happy as little clam.

And...I just had to post this photo.

I just love this photo of my new grand son. It almost looks like he is grinning. I wish I could just hold him again. I am hoping to see them at Christmas, but not looking too good at the moment. Will probably be spring or next summer before I get to see him again, he will be walking and running by then.

Well, I am off to soak my achy bones in some lavender water and then off to bed. Have to get up early in the morning and get a kid moving. Thanks for stopping by.