The Owl's Nest

Weigh In Wednesday 5/13/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 13 May 2009 08:03:00 +0000

So did you catch the Biggest Loser finale last night? I am so pumped, HELEN WON!!

I just thought it was the best motivation to see that the oldest person in the contest was rivaled by the next oldest and THE sickest for the off campus winner. The off campus winner, in case you missed it, was a SIXTY FOUR year old man who ended up losing 47% of his body weight (I can't remember how many pounds but it was A LOT).

Helen lost 54% of her body weight (140 pounds) and now is a tiny 117. Can you imagine being half the size you are? That's quite an accomplishment.

I don't have quite that much to lose, if I lost half my body weight I'd be sick. It is definately motivating though to see people like the ones that were up on that stage losing all that weight. And since Helen is 48, Ron is 50-something and JERRY (the off campus winner) is 64, I'm not sure any of us have an excuse anymore for not losing the weight and getting moving.

I noticed that most all of them said that getting started was the hardest part.

This week's Notes:

Food:
I'm pretty proud of myself this week. I had zero over indulgences this time and Mother's Day I made all kinds of desserts and cooked a feast for the company we had.

Water:
I did ok. I'm still forgetting to drink all the water I'm supposed to. I only had a couple of Diet Dr. Peppers this time though, so I'm doing better on cutting out that. I figured out that I just can't have them in the house at all, or I will be tempted to drink them...and then I replace them when I go back to the store. So no more buying them for me. Then I don't feel so guilty if I get one while we're out.

Exercise:
The exercise hasn't been happening because of all the rain. I'm going to town today and I think I'm going to scour the thrift stores for an exercise dvd. I might even be tempted to venture into Wal Mart for one if I can't find one at Goodwill or the DAV.

Successes:
My success this time has been the lack of snacking and the healthy and low cal food choices. I rocked the calorie count this time...so yay me!

Failures:
Lack of exercise. Maybe getting a DVD will help.

Weight Change:
One pound loss

How did you do this week? Let me know in the comments. If you make a post on your own blog, link to it so we can encourage each other to keep it up!

Being a Step-mother

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:00:00 +0000

We all grew up hearing the fairy tales about the wicked, evil "stepmother". When I married my husband, he already had two daughters. I was so nervous about being someone's "stepmother", especially since I had my own experience with step-parents growing up and it wasn't so great. I was so lucky though, that when I met his girls, they made it so easy to form our own relationship that it's easy to forget about the "step" part. So the only steps in our house now...are the ones that go up the stairs.

I never forget, though, as much as I love these kids that these girls already have a mom. And I try to honor that relationship. I would never try to replace the girl's mothers, just as I wouldn't want my ex-husband's wife to try to replace me as their mom either. A child can never have too many people who care about them though. And my heart would not seem nearly so full without Rachel and Kera in it. I'll talk to you this week about Rachel and how she is such a blessing to my life.

Rachel is graduating this Sunday from the 8th grade. Next year, she will be a high school student. She is the same age as my daughter Shelby, only Shelby was born in February and Rachel is an October baby from the year before. Rachel never lets her forget that she's four months older!

Rachel is extremely good-natured. She's always got something to be laughing about and many times it's herself. Yes, she's one of those rare people who's unafraid to be goofy. She doesn't know how far ahead of the game that puts her already!

You can see from her picture that she's gorgeous. Just like all the other kids in our house. Aren't we lucky?

Rachel has a giving spirit that I wish would rub off sometimes. If there's ever something I need help with, Rachel is the first one to help. Some of our best times have been in the kitchen baking cookies or making pies. She's a great sister and an even better daughter. I am so lucky to have this life with Rachel in it.

For more Grati-Tuesday, please go visit Heavenly Homemakers.

For more Talk about Tuesday, please visit The Lazy Organizer

Simple Woman's Journal 5/11/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:55:00 +0000

For Today...May 11, 2009 (Wow, this month is going fast!)

Outside my window...It's 54 degrees and sunny. The guy across the road is banging on something. I think they are redoing something on their storage building.

I am thinking... I need to get up from the computer and get in gear. Busy day!

I am thankful for...God's grace and goodness. I know he will take care of us all.

From the kitchen...the kitchen is dark, I haven't done anything in there yet. There are still dishes in the drainer from last night.

I am wearing...yellow tshirt and denim crop pants with little multicolored sandals on them.

I am reading...The Martha Rules

I am hoping...that I find some way to move closer to my hometown. We're looking for jobs and a way to work it out. We will also have to sell our house here. I'm praying it all works out easily for us.

I am creating...many resume's and applications for job hunting. I'm trying many different avenues. One will work!

I am hearing...Abby's cartoons from the living room and my radio show on my radio in here.

Around the house...I've got laundry going, but that's the only thing going so far. I need to get a move on there is a lot to do today.

One of my favorite things...when family visits (like yesterday my in-laws were here) or when we visit family (the weekend before we stayed with my family).

A few plans for the rest of the week...I am busy as always. You can see my entire to-do list for the week here .

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...My daughter Shelby has been a Jr High cheerleader, but they just had tryouts for next year and she made varsity cheerleader for the high school! Way to go Shelby! Here is a picture of her cheering at a competition. She's the one in the front row on the left.

For more posts like this, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook

Routines, When You Can't Sing...Yodel

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:00:00 +0000

I had planned today on writing about how sometimes plans go awry as they've been for me lately. And that one way to make your home sing is to roll with the punches and if you can't sing, yodel.

MomsTheWord actually had the same idea this week, so I'm going to change my topic and instead I'll talk about how to survive that upheaval by the doing the opposite of the chaos...having routines.

I have a morning and a night routine. In between I put the daily activities that I would like to do each day, my "to-do" list, but my morning routine and my night routine are the same every day and they help me to keep on track no matter what is going on.

When you make a routine, you go on auto-pilot, which is the beauty of making a routine. It becomes a habit. This past week I had to change my routines a little bit, to accommodate my son's injury. My auto pilot needed On-star, let me tell you! But even when the routines are new, they still become habits. It just takes a few times doing them the same way to get there.

My morning routine looks like this:

Get J (my husband) off to work (lunch and stuff)
kids awake to get ready for school
washer started
Get myself ready
Help Dillon get dressed and ready
breakfast and meds
bible study/morning prayer (I do this while everyone is eating/getting ready)
laundry to dryer
drop-off at school
blog linkups as needed
email and reader
prep for dinner (as needed)
clean kitchen from breakfast

I know it's a little long, but it's the morning routine that I have and it's on auto-pilot...well, mostly. I'm just adding the taking the kids to school because I can't make Dillon ride the bus on crutches...I just can't do it. Also, I didn't have to help my 15 yr old get ready before last week, but it's a little hard to get yourself ready when you can barely move. So I took the new circumstances of our family, and I adjusted the routine accordingly. As the routine is already in place, those few little adjustments were easy to accommodate.

The night routine is a lot shorter:

Clean kitchen
To-Do board (I like to mark my to-do's off on a white board in my kitchen...so I write the next days on each night and then mark them off all day long as I do them)
shower & PJ's for me and Abby
Help Dillon get clothes for morning (he can't go upstairs where his room is, so I bring out choices for him to wear tomorrow)yes, he's on the couch until after the surgery and healing...probably most of the summer :(
Help Dillon with his shower
quick pickup
night meds
post blogs

I've obviously added three items to the list due to the accident, but having this little routine certainly helps me to get everything done each night.

If I did nothing else but the morning routine and the night routine, things would hold together in our home. That's basically what happened last week as I was getting used to the constant care Dillon was taking and all the phone calls and doctor visits that we made. The morning routine and the night routine kept the household going until I could get back on track (hopefully this week!)

If you don't have a set of routines that guide you, I would definitely recommend them. After they've been done for several weeks each task becomes automatic. As your life and circumstances change, you just rearrange or add and subtract items as needed.

This is how I make my home yodel when things are chaotic. And this is the baseline to make my home sing when things are going a little bit smoother. How do you make YOUR home sing?

For more Home Sing Monday's, check out Moms The Word

Pray for Kyndall

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:06:00 +0000

A blog that I always read MomsTheWord, has a post about a young girl, Kyndall who was in in a terrible boating accident today. She is on a ventilator right now, bleeding in the brain, fractured skull, and fluid on her lungs. You can read about the accident at Read About the Reeds.

This is actually the first time that I've ever been to their blog, but I clicked over from Mom's blog post and after I said my prayer, I thought I would make a short post here so that anyone reading here can say a prayer as well.

The power of prayer is phenomenal. I am constantly amazed by God's grace and power. All we have to do is ask and he can heal our lives. So take a minute right now please and say a quick prayer for Kyndall.

Thanks,

Lisa

Weekly Plan and Menu's 5/10/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 11 May 2009 03:45:00 +0000

This week I have a ton of catching up to do. With Dillon's injury last week, I spent a lot of time taking care of him. He's helpless not being able to walk or even move his leg by himself. I was also taking him to the doctor and calling to get the orthopedic appointments set up for his surgery, etc. So I didn't get a whole lot accomplished last week.

I'm hoping that I will make up for it this week. There are some things that absolutely must be done this week, I'll mark them with asterisks. There is some really good TV this week too. Normally I don't put TV on my schedule, but this week is an exception. I've got to schedule a few of these so I don't miss them!!

As always, the menu items are in red.

Monday
Morning routine
Grocery list
Pay bills*
call Dr. George*
call realtors
text redbox code to J for free movie Monday
send off mail (be sure you get those other Tahlequah apps mailed in)*
Monthly accounting (a week late)*
Tackle pantry and pictures for blog
Reunion calls*
I need to try to get some gardening done also...rain in forecast most of the rest of week
Mother's Day leftovers
blog posts before bed

Tuesday
Morning routine
Work on proposals
check ironing
Weekly shopping trip
check on job downtown*
Redbox return and pickup
"Taco Bell" burritos (I make my version...Dillon's favorite) (in fact, I'll blog the recipe later in the week!)
Finish reunion calls if any left from Monday*
BIGGEST LOSER SEASON FINALE!! :) (go Helen go!)
Post Wed blogs before bed

Wednesday
Morning routine
Laundry catch up
Extra Blog work
WHS site work*
reunion tasks*
Chicken Cheese and Rice casserole
LOST SERIES FINALE!!
Post Thurs blogs before bed

Thursday
Morning Routine
Clean Kitchen
Clean out fridge
Take out trash (trash day tomorrow)
Garden Work (get some pics for garden blog on Fri)
Baked Potato Soup
GREY'S ANATOMY SEASON FINALE!! (please don't let Izzie die!!!)
Post blogs

Friday
Morning Routine
Bill day
Catch up anything that didn't get done
Clean house for the weekend
Pizza for dinner
Post Blogs

Saturday
Morning routine
Garden and yard
open for family fun...
Grill out burgers

Sunday
Morning routine
Church
newspaper
Cut coupons
Plan out next week
YOYO dinner (Your On Your Own)

To see more weekly menu's please visit Laura @ I'm An Organizing Junkie

For more To-Do Tuesday, visit Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting

And if you'd like to know how my week went, and tell me how your week went as well, please come back to visit me on Saturday night or Sunday for my own carnival about celebrating the successes and even the not so successful points too. I find I've got to brain-storm a bit to make my to-do list work...that's what this is for. Won't you join me?

From To-Do to Ta-Da 5/10/09

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:08:00 +0000

I've had a rough week and haven't gotten much done at all. With doctor's visits and just taking care of my son, I've had my hands full just getting the day to day laundry, cooking and housework done. I didn't get much of my extra work done this week.

Well, here is the damage:

Tuesday

~~Morning routine~~
Work on proposals
Monthly accounting
Garden work
~~Chicken and Noodles~~
Reunion calls made
Post Wed blogs before bed

Tue: Today was mostly about unpacking and laundry. Recouping from the trip. I put off all of these tasks that weren't done until Wednesday, but of course I didn't catch up all week.

Wednesday

~~Morning routine~~
~~Tahlequah calls~~
~~Dillon follow up with Dr.~~
Extra Blog work
WHS site work
reunion tasks
~~Shake and Bake Chicken~~
Post Thurs blogs before bed

Wed: Today we went to town for the doctor and stayed most of the day getting some shopping, etc done.

Thursday

~~Morning Routine~~
~~Clean Kitchen~~
~~Clean out fridge~~
~~Take out trash (trash day tomorrow)~~
Garden Work
Grilled Burritos
Post blogs

Thurs: Got a little more done today, but still didn't catch up the stuff I was behind on. We did a fend for yourself for dinner.

Friday

~~Morning Routine~~
Bill day
Catch up anything that didn't get done
Tahlequah and WAH calls
~~Pizza~~
Post Blogs

Fri: Today I spent almost the whole day job hunting. I've been doing that every Monday and either Wednesday or Friday all along, but usually just one or two jobs at a time, and it doesn't take long. Today there were a whole lot more new jobs posted and I found a new website to look on, so I spent almost the whole day on that and didn't get a whole lot else done.

Saturday

~~Morning Routine~~
Garden and Family day
~~Grill Night (burgers, chicken, variety)~~
Post Blogs

Sat: Today all I did was clean house to get ready for Sunday, having in-laws over for Mother's Day.

Hopefully I can get a little bit more done next week than I have this week. Dillon is doing a little bit better and I've kind of gotten into the groove of things now after a week of it, so maybe this next week will be a little better.

I hope you did better than me this week, but either way, let me know in the comments. Or if you make a post about your week, you can link up to Mr Linky as well.

Weigh In Wednesday 5/6

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 06 May 2009 18:37:00 +0000

This weekend I don't think I even ate at all with all the stress and worry. I would have thought with all the extra lifting and extra work I've been doing and the less calories I would have lost something.

This week's Notes:

Food: I barely ate at all over the weekend and I've been eating sensibly before and since.

Water: I did ok. I'm still forgetting to drink all the water I'm supposed to.

Exercise: I didn't walk on the weekend because of the rain, but I know that I made up for it with all the lifting of my son (who's as big as I am) and the rushing around that I did.

Successes: I'm not sure what there is to celebrate this week. I didn't stress eat on Saturday or Sunday...I guess that's it.

Failures: Behavior-wise I don't think I had any. The scale sure doesn't reflect that though.

Weight Change: No weight change.

How did you do this week? Let me know in the comments. And if you make a post on your own blog, link to it so we can encourage each other to keep it up! Mr Linky isn't working as I've written this, so I'll come back and edit it in when it is.

Tough Cowboy

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:30:00 +0000

This past weekend my husband, kids and I traveled to my father's house in Oklahoma for Round Up . We stayed all weekend to work cows with the rest of my family and our good friends. However, Dillon had a pretty rough time of it this weekend.

It was raining all weekend, so things were wet and muddy while the cattle were worked. On Saturday in the first couple of hours, while working on the heifers, my dad hollered at anyone not at the chute to get over the fence. They were about to work a mean cow and when she got out, she would come out fighting.

Dillon started over the fence and heard a noise behind him, so he turned to look. When he turned to look, his left foot slipped on the wet fence. As he started to fall, his right foot got stuck in the fence and his knee popped out of socket. When he was falling, the dislocation only became more extreme, so when his foot let loose and he made it to the ground, he was laying there with a severely dislocated kneecap.

Thankfully my dad hadn't let that cow loose yet, but she was banging and snorting and trying to get out of the chute while Dillon was laying, leg distorted, on the ground. If she had gotten out there would have been no choice but to quickly throw Dillon over the fence, injury and all, to keep him from being mauled by the cow.

Someone hollered at me to come running and when I got there I saw Dillon on the ground, surrounded by people staring at a leg twisted all wrong, an empty socket where the knee should be and his kneecap floating around on the exterior side of his calf. Dillon was in excrutiating pain. Luckily (I guess) I have dealt with bad knees my whole life, mine pop out on occasion as well, so I knew what to do. I talked to my cousin and asked her to stabilize the kneecap and as I straighten the leg, it should pop right in, but guide it if it needs help. So I grabbed the leg and we did it.

We put him on large piece of plywood that someone found in the barn, and carried him out of the lot, and to an SUV. He laid down in the back and I had my oldest daughter, Shelby, get back there with him to stabilize the leg for the 18 miles to the hospital. I showed her how to hold it and where not to, strapped Abby (my four yr old) in and then got behind the wheel and drove.

When we got to the hospital, they x-rayed it, gave him a brace to wear for the next few weeks, and crutches. They said we should see our doctor here in Kansas when we got back (we have an appointment tomorrow) and that we should get a referral to an osteopath. We are supposed to ice every 2 hours for 20 minutes and he can't put any weight on it (not that he would!).

Would you believe this is a picture AFTER the swelling is starting to go down? It's less swollen than this today thank goodness and he actually slept last night. So it will get better from here.

It really was a good weekend, all this part aside, but I am so grateful this is over. I think even as bad as it was, with that cow where she was, it could have been even worse. So I'm making this post part of Grati-Tuesday @ Heavenly Homemakers.

Tackling Spring Round Up

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:46:00 +0000

Normally Tackles are something that I've done on my own. Some home improvement, craft or home-keeping task that I need to get done. This week however, I'm posting about something that my entire family, and many of our dearest friends do together two times a year. Once in the spring and once in the fall, we all come together at my father's ranch and work cattle for two days. It's called "Round Up".

I had decided last week to write about round up for this week's tackle. I usually take pictures anyway and since it's an extremely labor intensive project, it fits the bill. However, I wasn't able to take pictures of this year's event, my son had an accident early on Saturday (I had only taken four pictures so far) and I spent most of Saturday in the Emergency Room. Sunday I spent taking care of him, so I didn't get enough pictures to write the article, so I've decided to substitute in shots from last year to describe what this Round Up weekend is all about. Because even though there was an injury and I wasn't really as involved this year (except for meals and LOTS of muddy cowboy laundry) the work still went on and the job got done. So I still want to tell you about it as I've received many comments wondering how it all works and people who were excited to see the post about it this week.

Round up is quite the production. Weeks before the event my father is getting ready purchasing vaccine and vaccination supplies, getting the house ready for the many workers from out of town who will be spending the weekend, getting each of the corrals prepared for the work. One of my aunts and I usually handle the menu's. We plan out the lunches for the two days and try to figure out who will be coming and how many we will be feeding. These cowboys and cowgirls are working for the food and the company, so we can't disappoint!

Round up is a two day event occurring in two different locations. My father runs cattle on both his own ranch and more recently my grandmother's place. When my grandfather passed away, he purchased the land around my grandmother's house and yard and so now his ranch is expanded. I jokingly call it his b-ranch location! On Saturday all the work is done at the ranch at my Grandmother's and on Sunday all the work is done on the place where my dad lives (a few miles away). The process is the same for both days, just one day at one location and the other day is at the other location.

The morning of roundup a handful of cowboys, usually my dad and brother, my husband and oldest son and a couple of friends of ours will go out and gather the cows from the pastures where they stay. When they are all "rounded up", they are moved into the corrals where we will be working.

And sorted into pens according to what needs to be done. Bulls are segregated, heifers, big calves that can fit into the chute and then finally the smaller calves are sorted.

First we work the heifers and big calves. They are given vaccinations, wormed, tagged and sometimes when needed, gyno exams are given to the heifers who are pregnant. Occasionally there will be a cow that needs to be dehorned or an older calf that hasn't yet been castrated. Most castrations though are done on the smaller calves.

These cattle are moved from the pen they were sorted into and moved up the alley and into the chute.

Then each is worked simultaneously given the proper attention when they are in the chute. There is an "assembly line" of people each handling a different chore. My father is the leader and gives instructions for each animal as it comes through, as some will be treated differently than others and he knows each one individually and can identify their needs.

Ideally this is a quick process, though sometimes (like Saturday) there can be moments of excitement and it can take a little longer than we planned.

The last step is working the smaller calves. These calves need to be roped and thrown since they won't fit in the chute to be worked as the larger ones were.

First the roper gets into the pen with the smaller calves and each one is roped...

We try to have more than one roper, to make this part go faster (as there are usually many calves to be worked). With more than one roper, then we can process several calves at a time. We try to have several teams for each position (roper, thrower, needles, cutting and tagging)

The roped calf is then pulled into the lot where it can be worked...

The cowboy who throws will pick a good location in the work lot, and then throw the calf...
When the calf is down and held, others will come in to process the calf as needed. In this picture you can see how many jobs are done at once so the calf doesn't have to be held still for long. The calf isn't hurt by any of the process, as it's skin is thicker than ours and it's tolerance for pain is too. It does, however, HATE to be held still. We try to get the necessary procedures done without causing too much stress to the animals.
This is an enormous tackle, much bigger than any tackle that I normally post about that I do by myself. It is a great expression of how family can work together out of love to help a family member. It is a wonderful lesson for the children

If you'd like to see what projects others in the blogosphere are working on, please visit Tackle It Tuesday @ 5 Minutes for Mom

Weekly Plan and Menu's 5/4

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Well, the weekly plan is up late this week...we've had a few kinks.

I just got back from round up at my dad's ranch in Oklahoma. We have this heavy work day of his cattle two times a year. Friends and family from all over come together and get a TON of work done in two days. I look forward to it all year.

When we get home we are usually exhausted and sometimes sunburned. We are NOT however usually on crutches!

We had an accident this year and my oldest son, Dillon is hobbling around in a leg-brace and using crutches. I had planned on making a post for tomorrow about roundup and putting in a few pictures of the cattle working action. Instead, tomorrow I'll be posting about Dillon's accident instead. I may go ahead though, and describe round up in more detail and just use the pictures from this time last year.

Anyway, here are the plans and menu's this week. Menu items are in red.

Tuesday

Morning routine
Work on proposals
Monthly accounting
Garden work
Chicken and Noodles
Reunion calls made
Post Wed blogs before bed

Wednesday

Morning routine
Tahlequah calls
Dillon follow up with Dr.
Extra Blog work
WHS site work
reunion tasks
Shake and Bake Chicken
Post Thurs blogs before bed

Thursday

Morning Routine
Clean Kitchen
Clean out fridge
Take out trash (trash day tomorrow)
Garden Work
Grilled Burritos
Post blogs

Friday

Morning Routine
Bill day
Catch up anything that didn't get done
Tahlequah and WAH calls
Pizza
Post Blogs

Saturday

Morning Routine
Garden and Family day
Grill Night (burgers, chicken, variety)
Post Blogs

To see more weekly menu's please visit Laura @ I'm An Organizing Junkie

For more To-Do Tuesday, visit Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting

And if you'd like to know how my week went, and tell me how your week went as well, please come back to visit me on Saturday night or Sunday for

Back From Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Just wanted to post a quick note to let anyone and everyone know that we are back home from Round-up. There was an accident with my oldest son, Dillon, I'll tell you more about that later.

The post that I WAS going to do with pictures about round-up, is now going to be a post about Dillon's accident. I'll get it done for tomorrow. Needless to say, I didn't get many pictures since I was sitting in the emergency room most of Saturday and then taking care of an injured teenager the rest of the weekend. I might post about how roundup works anyway though and just use the pictures from last year, instead.

Anyway, everyone is back home and all is fine, even the one on crutches. I'll get a post done tomorrow because I've got a lot of unpacking and laundry to do tonight (it's 6pm and there's school tomorrow).

Lisa

From To-Do to Ta-Da #2 5/2/09

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:00:00 +0000

This is the second week of hosting my very first carnival, from To-Do, to Ta-Da.

The purpose of this carnival is for us to share our progress in the week that has just finished. We do our to-do lists at the beginning of the week, then we can post them on Tuesday (if you wish...I do) over at Crazy Adventures in Parenting To Do Tuesday. We work on our lists all week and get all that we can accomplished. Then, Saturday night, or Sunday, we can look back on our weeks together, here.

What have I accomplished? TA-DA!!

What should I do differently next week to make my to-do list work better for me?

What struggles did I face this week that made progress especially difficult?

Any of these issues or any others that you can think of can all be addressed here. This carnival is for you, so you can make your Ta-Da post in any manner that you choose, whatever works best for you.

Oh man it has been a busy week. And it's actually not even over yet. I'm writing this Friday morning so that I can pack for us to go away for the weekend when school's out today.

Here is how my week has gone so far:

Monday
~~Morning routine~~
~~Grocery list and start chili in crockpot~~
~~Weekly shopping trip~~
~~pickup free Redbox movie~~
~~call for truck repair and rental~~
~~check ironing~~
~~Tackle office and pictures for blog~~
~~Chili for supper~~
~~blog posts before bed~~

Mon-I didn't make it to town Monday, but I went on Tuesday. I got a few of the Tuesday items on Monday so that it would still all work out.

Tuesday

~~Ask J to Return Redbox movie~~
~~Morning routine~~
Work on proposals and Resume
~~Garden work~~
~~Cream Can for supper~~
Reunion calls made
~~Post Wed blogs before bed~~

Tue-I went to town today and got a TON of stuff done in the garden. Even more than I'd planned on. Good thing too because it's been raining all week since. I just hope my poor new plants don't drown.

Wednesday

~~Morning routine~~
~~Laundry catch up day~~
~~Crock pot chickens for casseroles and broth (prep for another day, not this week)~~
~~Extra Blog work~~
WHS site work
~~reunion tasks~~
~~Chicken Fettuccini w/Alfredo Sauce (that I didn't make last week)~~
~~Post Thurs blogs before bed~~

Wednesday: Today I had to take Abby to the doctor for her 4yr checkup. She's a year ahead of where she's supposed to be developmentally, but I didn't need the doctor to tell me she's gifted (ok, I'm bragging just a little..but it's allowed lol). I still put off the reunion stuff for another day and it's still not done on Friday. Next week I'll make it priority.

Thursday

~~Morning Routine~~
~~Clean Kitchen~~
~~Clean out fridge~~
~~Take out trash (trash day tomorrow)~~
Garden Work
~~Chicken Salad sandwiches~~
~~Post blogs~~

Thurs: I blazed through my list in no time today, except for the garden work since it's raining. I made up for the rainy day though on Tuesday. I'm almost through with putting in all the plants that I wanted and I've even thought of a couple more things I'd like to do this year to add to the list.

Friday

~~Morning Routine~~
~~Bill day~~
Catch up anything that didn't get done
~~Pack to leave on trip after school is out~~
~~Pizza for dinner (ready to eat before we leave)~~
~~Post Blogs~~

Fri: Truthfully I've yet to get started since no one is even up yet this morning, but I see no problem with being able to finish it all, so I'm marking it off anyway! lol I pretty much finished the packing yesterday. I still need to call my dad though and see if he sees anything else we need that I can bring.

I hope you all have a great weekend! We are going to my dad's ranch this weekend to help with the roundup (as you may know if you regularly read this blog). I will have pictures next week I hope. There is a chance that it may rain though, so I'm not sure what will happen if it's heavy. We've worked cattle in the rain before, so I know that won't stop us unless it's a gullywasher. Camera may not come out then though.

See you all next week!

Are you proud of, or at least analytical about the things you've accomplished this week? Why not join me by adding your link below?

Garden Club Friday 5/1/2009

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 01 May 2009 05:42:00 +0000

I am so glad that all the snow and the rain, and the crappy non-gardening weather is over (at least for now!!)

I was FINALLY able to start putting in gardens.

In the front, by the door there is nothing to show you because I only planted seeds for poppies. But it's done.

The front/corner/south side garden I moved a ton of tulips to put in my north shrub garden and replanted with strawberry plants. I put in six blueberry plants in a corner where there was an empty spot, and I cleaned up around my asiatic lilies, which are starting to pop out the foliage. I also planted from seed some four o'clocks, which will pop out in front of my lilies in the empty spot. Here's a picture. And the little yellow flowers are marigolds. I have always heard that they attract the beneficial insects and repel the undesireables, so I try to plant them around when I can.

I also tilled and prepared the vegetable garden. Then planted the following rows.
The rows go 18' wide and I have 40' to make my rows in.

SUNFLOWERS
CUCUMBERS
PEAS (OKRA WILL GO HERE LATER)
GREEN BEANS
CROOKNECK SQUASH
PEPPERS
ZUCCHINI SQUASH
BROCCOLI
WATERMELON/CANTALOUPE/PUMPKINS
PATCHWORK OF LETTUCE/SPINACH/CABBAGE
TOMATOES
PATCHWORK OF ONIONS

There's not really much to see in the garden yet, but I will take pictures later to show you as things start taking off.

Have a great weekend and happy gardening until next week!

And be sure to check out The Peterson Clan's Garden Club to see other gardens and garden plans.

Frugal Friday: The Art of Thrift

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Fri, 01 May 2009 03:13:00 +0000

Life As Mom is sponsoring Frugal Friday's again and I tried to think of a good frugal hint this week when I was out on my regular weekly shopping trip. Then as I pulled up to the SECOND thrift store on our regular route, it dawned on me. I don't even realize that thrift stores are frugal because they are SO much fun! Sometimes you might go and walk through and not see anything that you need or want, and other times you will find a goldmine of items, but there are some things that you can pretty much always count on finding at least one of at thrift stores in y our town.

Lamps and lighting
There are usually many choices of lamps and lighting at your local thift store. Some of them unique choices that you won't find other places, some completely ordinary but functional pieces. You might be surprised how many times you will find new hardware and fixtures at your thrift store. People buy for home improvement projects and change their mind, or don't follow through.

Small Appliances
Don't run to Wal-Mart when your popcorn popper or can opener quits. Those are two of the things that are almost guaranteed to be at your local thrift store. Other items in this catagory that are sure finds are crockpots of various sizes, some type of dustbuster vacuum, there is usually an iron and always, ALWAYS tons of hair appliances. This hair dryer in the picture isn't necessarily a RARE find, but it's one not seen too often, so I'd pick something like that up if you or someone else would use it. For $3.00 it's a good buy. Also don't forget to look for TV's here.

Picture Frames

There are always lots of pictures to be found at thrift stores. They are worth looking through even if you don't like the art. I have found some beautiful old frames to display family pictures in.

Furniture

You can always find furniture at thrift stores too.
You won't always find a beautiful piece to match your decor, or a priceless antique, but sometimes you can really find a bargain. I've seen furniture almost like new priced less than $50.00. And then sometimes it's ugly and you wonder who would buy it.

I'll tell you who buys it. A friend of mine has a husband who buys thrift store furniture every year for this cookout that they have at their house. There are usually 25-50 people, so they put out couches and tables on the grass outside their shop building. Laugh if you want...we get a chuckle out of it, but it's really not that bad an idea for extra seating!

Specialty Clothing

Everyone knows that you can find clothing at thrift stores, that's no surprise. What you might forget though is that people send their prom dresses, wedding dresses and other specialized clothing items. So don't forget just to take a look through when you go just to see what's there.

Dishes and Cookware

You will ALWAYS find dishes and cookwear at the thrift store. If you find you need something in your kitchen, why not stop in the local thrift store before you head to Wal-Mart. You might be surprised at what you find. On this trip we found a complete set, 61 pieces, of Pfaltzgraff China in pristine condition for less than $40.00. I took a picture for my blog and went on. When I got home and started writing this, I thought I'd price it. Now I'm kicking myself. There is a 21 piece of the same thing, in worse condition on Ebay for more and they just started the bidding on it. Darn it! Oh well, maybe next week! lol

In fact that's just the tip of the iceberg of all the things you can find at thrift stores. Never again will I buy a vase at a regular store. I buy almost all our craft items here, there are always truckloads of every type of crafting item. Baskets and floral items are almost always b1g1.

The trick for me is to go frequently, because you never know what you'll find. I just make a stop in once a week on my errand day a habit. Many times we walk out with nothing, or with a small token for a child, but sometimes we make great finds for our home, for gifts, and that's one way that I can spend money on myself and not have buyers remorse.

Don't forget to shop at the thrift store. It's the frugal thing to do. Besides, you can find almost everything there. Including...

The kitchen sink!

For more frugal ideas, be sure to visit Life As Mom for Frugal Friday!

WFMW: How to never forget a birthday card again

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:55:00 +0000

This year one of my New Year's resolutions was to take advantage of greeting cards to stay in touch with family and friends. I wanted to never again realize that it was one of my nephew's birthdays and that I hadn't remembered to send a card. It's such a SIMPLE thing, but something that can mean so much. We're always saying, "It's the thought that counts." Well, forgetting until AFTER a birthday or never sending a "congratulations on your new baby" card to a college friend is not the way to build strong bonds and keep long distance friendships.

So this year, I vowed to do better. And so far, I'm on target 100%.

I'll tell you my little secret. Come closer...here's a peek

(I just covered the address with a sticky note. I thought they might not appreciate me blabbing their address to whomever might read this blog!)

I have an index card for each month with all the important "greeting card" dates. The last week of each month, on errand day I make a trip to the Dollar Tree where you can get cards on the cheap. They have a great selection too! With index card in hand, I can choose a greeting card for each occasion.

When I get home, I go ahead and sign and address all the cards at once. Then, I put them in my bill folder which is divided up into weeks. Each Friday, when I do bills, I can mail the appropriate card for the following week, so that I will never have to call my nephew again and tell him, "hey kiddo, sorry I didn't get your card in the mail, but..."

Before I devised this system there were many times that I had remembered to buy the card, but never mailed it because I put it somewhere and forgot. I've even put it in my purse and then been out somewhere, actually REMEMBERED to mail it but with my address book at home I would have to call my brother for the address. This way, things like addresses, stamps or location are never a problem. The whole process takes maybe ten minutes out of the day and I'm done for another month.

Preparing cards once a month...it sure works for me. What works for you?

To see more Works For Me Wednesday, visit We Are That Family.

Oh Yes! It is here! Garden time!!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:02:00 +0000

Some marigolds and of course, my big fat Owl that I put in "strawberry corner" on Saturday.

For more Wordless Wednesday, visit 5 Minutes for Mom

Weigh In Wednesday 4/27/09

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:31:00 +0000

Is anyone else watching The Biggest Loser? Those people are so inspirational. My favorite one was booted off last week, Kristen. That girl was almost four hundred pounds when she started and in 16 weeks she had lost 116 pounds and was RUNNING. RUNNING!! It makes me wonder what the heck I'm still doing on the couch. If those people can do it with all that extra weight on their backs, why can't I?

Last night they showed the five remaining contestants the physical/medical effects of all the dieting and exercise they'd been doing the last 17 weeks. In that time, Helen had lost 103 pounds and the doctor told her that she had taken TEN years off her life. At 48 she's the age when most women kind of "give in" to those extra pounds. It's really inspirational to see her kicking those extra pounds to the curb!

So the question is, what's keeping me from doing what they did? I have a whole lot less to lose than Kristin and I'm younger than Helen. Filipe had asthma, so that's no excuse either. I'm running out of excuses here. Maybe I could say time is the issue. That is actually an issue for me, but you know what? After watching last nights show and seeing how much just WEIGHT can effect your medical issues...and how possible it actually is to turn it around. I am thinking now that I don't have the time NOT to exercise. If I don't do something now then I'm going to be in Helen's shoes by the time I get to 48.

So I finally started exercising last week and I kicked it into high gear this morning after watching last nights show. So couple that with the diet I've been doing the past few weeks, and we'll see if that changes anything. I know it will, if it worked for them...ANYONE should be able to do it.

This week's Notes:

Food: I did excellent. No big calorie splurges. A few nutritional choices that I could have made better, but I can live with it.

Water: I did ok. There is still room for improvement though. I get busy in the garden or doing something in the house and forget to drink.

Exercise: At least I've gotten started. I should be improving each week in this area. I'm getting kind of tired of piddling around with this, it's time to make some real changes.

Successes: I think the turnaround in my attitude is the biggest success so far. Now to translate that into actual pounds.

Failures: Just a few nutritional choices that I could have made better.

Weight Change: No weight change.

How did you do this week? Let me know in the comments. And if you make a post on your own blog, link to me below on Mr. Linky and we can encourage each other to keep it up! If they can do it, so can we!

Help!! I Can't Find My Desk!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:42:00 +0000

I'm embarrassed to show you this. I'll warn you now.

I think almost every family has a place like this in their home. A stuff magnet. A place that no matter how hard you try, it is nearly impossible to keep STUFF from accumulating on. The cold hard truth is, that even though it's cleaned up now, if you check back again after all the kids are home from school with their STUFF, and I come in with something that I want to check the computer on...more stuff. The truth is that by bedtime tonight it will look ALMOST as bad as this before picture.
The scanner was still out from my picture project I finished last week. Pictures and paperwork from the kids stacked on every surface area...even Abby's snack dish found it's way onto my desk. It seems like no matter how hard I try, this ends up being our dumping ground for everything. I USUALLY clean it about once a day, or every other day...but this time it's been a lick and a promise for several days in a row and it was getting EXTREMELY ugly.

Here is the after picture. Ahhh, I can breathe again.

Oh, and my garden is my excuse as to why it looked this bad. So check back later in the week so you can see why I wasn't cleaning my office before today!

If you'd like to see what projects others in the blogosphere are working on today, please visit Tackle It Tuesday @ 5 Minutes for Mom

GratiTuesday: A Healthy Child

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:00:00 +0000

I know that many of us have been praying for Stellan and his family. The latest news is Stellan was discharged from the hospital on Monday and they were staying in a hotel getting ready to go back home. A collective sigh can be heard all over bloggy land from those of us who didn't even realize we were holding our breath. ahhhhhhhhhh

I, for one, have been watching this story unfold remembering my own experience of having an infant in intensive care. My youngest son, Tucker had a very speedy delivery. There is a reason that our labors with these babies take as long as they do. As the baby is emerging through the birth canal, the pelvic bone is squeezing all that excess fluid from our babies lungs...at least that's how it's supposed to work.

Tucker was born so quickly that his lungs were brimming with fluid when he took his first breath. With that first breath, like a balloon filled too full of air, his lung sprung a leak. This is called a spontaneous pneumo thorax. While the one working lung labored to give him the necessary air, it too had excess fluid, and popped from the effort of breathing. So for a few seconds (which seemed like hours) Tucker had no lungs that were working. The doctors and nurses feverishly worked to put in chest tubes on both sides and my brand new baby had to be life-flighted (emergency helicoptered) to a large neonatal intensive care facility that could better handle his needs.

This is a picture of Tucker an hour after his birth, just before Life-Flight arrived to take him to St. Francais.

He was in St. Francais for his first month of life. He had tubes seemingly coming from every uncovered inch of his body. He underwent a couple of surgeries during his stay, as secondary conditions emerged throughout that month. He was on a respirator when he quit breathing completely the second week that he was there. And the entire time (until the last few days of his stay), his father and I were being told that he might not make it.

I remember the births of my children and their first days with such pleasure, except for Tucker's. His was an entirely different experience. The memory of staying by his side at St Francais, or at the Ronald McDonald house next door to shower or nap, all seems to be under a fog. I was sleepwalking through a bad dream and even the memory now, eleven years later still seems so surreal. I cannot even put into the words the victorious feeling...the rapture, when Tucker nursed for the first time. Being taken off all machines except for his IV only moments before I was allowed to pick him up and carry him into the nursing room. It was a positively life affirming experience. I remember thinking "He conquered death as a mere infant, God has big plans for this one."

And I'm sure that he still does. Tucker is now eleven years old and he will turn twelve in June. He's the most sensitive of my children and he displays a definate zest for life. He has a beautiful laugh, infectious to anyone who's around. He truly cares about his family and his friends.

The boy is a charmer.

So on this day when Stellan is released to go home, I share a special victory sigh with his mother. Relief, Respect for God and life, and a newfound and intensified appreciation for all our blessings. I truly understand the emotional journey she's had, and I wish her all the luck that I've had with my own ICU baby.

For more Grati-Tuesday, visit Heavenly Homemakers

The Simple Woman's Journal 4/27/09

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:43:00 +0000

For Today...April 27, 2009

Outside my window...It's 50 degrees and cloudy...at least it's BEGINNING to be spring!

I am thinking... of how busy this week is going to be.

I am thankful for...my children.

From the kitchen...chili on the stove, dishes in the drainer drying.

I am wearing...KU baseball shirt and sweatpants

I am reading...nothing right now

I am hoping...that things on the job front will look up soon.

I am creating...two new carnivals. I started the first one this past weekend and no one has participated yet. It's from To-Do to Ta-Da (celebrating what we accomplished through the week). I'm also beginning a weigh in Wednesday on Wednesday...I hope someone will join me on them.

I am hearing...Abby's cartoons.

Around the house...I've got lots going on. I intended to go shopping today, but it's so yucky outside I've moved it to tomorrow, so trying to get other things done from my to-do list.

One of my favorite things...smells from the kitchen when something is cooking slow like chili or stew

A few plans for the rest of the week...I am busy as always. You can see my entire to-do list for the week here.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...I put in my front and North side flower beds this weekend. I removed some tulips that I had in that corner and moved them to my shrub garden on the south side of the house and replaced them with strawberries. I also took an empty corner by the house (where I had annuals last year) and put in some blueberry plants. I cleaned out around my asiatic lilies and put some annual seeds down in the empty places. Here is how it looks. The empty spots will have flowers coming up from seed. Those yellow flowers are just marigolds that I got on sale. I put them close to the strawberries and blueberries as they are supposed to help bring beneficial insects and repel the bad ones.

For more posts like this, visit The Simple Woman's Daybook

Weekly Plan and Menu's 4/27 - 5/1

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:00:00 +0000

I started my very first carnival this past week. It's called From To-Do to Ta-Da and I made my first post on Saturday night but it can be done anytime, if you'd like to join in too. It is a look at how we did in our week. A report of progress we made, things we might need to modify and just overall accountability...

I missed only one of my menu items for the week, Chicken Fettuccini, so I'll be repeating it this week. We are leaving to do the spring round up (of cattle) at my dad's ranch this next weekend, so I only needed to plan through Friday this week as well.

Round up's are so much fun. My whole family gets together and we work cattle all day on Saturday and Sunday. We all bring really good food for the lunches, so those of us who aren't actually in the lots working cattle are in the kitchen visiting and putting the finishing touches on our food. I do a little bit of both, but there are some people who come and don't even work cattle at all, they just come to visit and watch...and eat!

Now for the plans and menu's this week. Menu items are in red.

Monday
Morning routine
Grocery list and start chili in crockpot
Weekly shopping trip
pickup free Redbox movie
call for truck repair and rental
check ironing
Tackle office and pictures for blog
Chili for supper
blog posts before bed

Tuesday

Ask J to Return Redbox movie
Morning routine
Work on proposals and Resume
Garden work
Cream Can for supper
Reunion calls made
Post Wed blogs before bed

Wednesday

Morning routine
Laundry catch up day
Crock pot chickens for casseroles and broth (prep for another day, not this week)
Extra Blog work
WHS site work
reunion tasks
Chicken Fettuccini w/Alfredo Sauce (that I didn't make last week)
Post Thurs blogs before bed

Thursday

Morning Routine
Clean Kitchen
Clean out fridge
Take out trash (trash day tomorrow)
Garden Work
Chicken Salad sandwiches
Post blogs

Friday

Morning Routine
Bill day
Catch up anything that didn't get done
Pack to leave on trip after school is out
Pizza for dinner (ready to eat before we leave)
Post Blogs

Saturday

Out of town

Sunday

Out of town

To see more weekly menu's please visit Laura @ I'm An Organizing Junkie

For more To-Do Tuesday, visit Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting

And if you'd like to know how my week went, and tell me how your week went as well, please come back to visit me on Saturday night or Sunday for my own first attempt at a carnival. I started it this past Saturday and I am hoping that someone else will join me in this celebration of our weeks.

From To-Do to Ta-Da...The Carnival!

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:27:00 +0000

I am going to try hosting my very first carnival! It's called from To-Do, to Ta-Da. The purpose of this carnival is for us to share our progress in the week that has just finished. We do our to-do lists at the beginning of the week, then we can post them on Tuesday (if you like...I do) over at Crazy Adventures in Parenting To Do Tuesday. We work on our lists all week and get all that we can accomplished. Then, Saturday night, or Sunday, we can look back on our weeks together, here.

What have I accomplished? TA-DA!! What should I do differently next week to make my to-do list work better for me? What struggles did I face this week that made progress especially difficult? Any of these issues and any others that you can think of can all be addressed here. This carnival is for you, so you can make your ta-da post in any manner that you choose, whatever works best for you.

The rules are only that you please make a link back here to me and this carnival somewhere in your post. You can use the banner if you like but you are not required to if a picture or something else works better for you. I think we all know how Mr. Linky works...I just hope that it works for me, as this is the first time I'm trying it.

Here is my finished to-do list for the week:

Monday

~~Morning routine~~
~~Weekly shopping trip~~
Pictures of thrifting for blog
~~pickup free Redbox movie~~
~~clean laundry room~~
~~Call Jess to confirm hair appt.~~
check ironing
~~Picture project pictures and blog post~~
~~Spaghetti for supper~~
~~blog posts before bed~~

Mon-I had to put off the trip to town until tomorrow or Wednesday. My brother in law is going to have gall bladder surgery and they have given me their youngest to watch. That makes two four year olds in the house! I might not get as much done the next couple of days, but it should make for some great pictures of Abby and her cousin.

Tuesday

~~Ask J to Return Redbox movie~~
~~Morning routine~~
~~Baked Potatoes in Crock Pot for tonight's supper~~

~~Prep Day with pictures for blogging~~

~~Mixes~~

~~Muffins~~

~~Cookies~~

~~Hair appointment~~
Garden work
~~Shake and Bake Chicken for supper~~
Reunion calls made
~~Post Wed blogs before bed~~

Tuesday was a bit hectic as well, but I got to town to pick up the groceries we needed (from Monday). I didn't make it into the garden, but knew I could spend a bit longer there on Thursday or Friday to make up for it. I planned on making those reunion calls Wednesday or Thursday evening, but never got that done either. That will be re-listed for next week.

Wednesday

~~Morning routine~~
Extra Blog work
~~WHS site work~~
reunion tasks
~~Clean Bathroom~~
~~Clean Living Room~~
Garden work
~~Waffles and Bacon for supper~~
Post Thurs blogs before bed

Wednesday again was hectic. I did get a tiny portion of my computer work done on my WHS website and spent some time learning how to do a new skill for future use on another website that's in the works. I didn't get my Thur/Fri blog posts done as I'd intended, which made me postpone those blog ideas for next week. I did get the pictures for those entries done on Thursday though.

Thursday

~~Morning Routine~~
Laundry Catch up day
~~Clean Kitchen~~
~~Clean out fridge~~
~~Take out trash (trash day tomorrow)~~
Work on proposals and Resume
Clean Office
~~Garden Work~~
Chicken Fettuccini w/Alfredo Sauce
Post blogs

Thursday I ended up going back to town again to run an errand for my husband. I got the errands that I missed earlier in the week and picked up some of my garden needs. I'm still behind on my laundry even now, but that's something I can work on tomorrow after church. My office is still a disaster area and I made it worse this week. I plan on making that a tackle this week, though the pictures may make a person shudder...it's getting bad! When I was in town Thursday I found a manager's special on steaks, so instead of the chicken fettuccini, I grilled steaks for dinner.

Friday

~~Morning Routine~~
~~Bill day~~
~~make dr appt for Abby(didn't get this done last week)~~
Catch up anything that didn't get done
~~Pizza for dinner~~
Post Blogs

Friday I finally got in the garden. My son Dillon helped and we got the vegetable plot ready to plant. Tilled and mixed in compost.

Saturday

~~Morning Routine~~
~~Gardening all day (J can help today hopefully)~~
~~Church clothes for tomorrow?~~
~~Grilled burgers and dogs for supper~~

Saturday was great. I finished the flowerbeds in the front and side gardens. The only flower beds I have left to do is my big shrub/azalea garden. I'm making some modifications there and I did do a little bit in that bed today as well.

That is my week in a nutshell. I have several things that will need to be re-listed next week. I didn't finish my blogwork the way I thought I could and I see that I need to re-evaluate the way I'm working on posts so that I don't keep falling behind on the ones that I plan on writing.

Now it's your turn!

Wordless Wednesday-Picture from my childhood

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:39:00 +0000

As you know, I've just finished that huge picture project. This is a picture of me and my younger brother acting silly, some thirty years ago. My brother would kill me if he knew I put this "blackmail" picture up on the internet...so shhhh, don't tell him!

To see more Wordless Wednesday pictures

Prep Day

noreply@blogger.com (Lisa) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:00:00 +0000

About once every two or three weeks, I try to have a prep day. I'd like to say that I have a prep day EVERY week, but that just doesn't seem to happen. Prep Day is a day when I go through my pantry and look at the mixes that I keep (homeade shake and bake, biscuit mix, cornbread mixes, rice mixes, seasoning mixes, etc) and see if there is anything I am low on.

I also spend that time in the kitchen making baked goods of doubled or tripled recipes. We can eat from this days baking and also freeze some for next week.

It's also a good time to work on things that slow cook. Or I will put together meals for the freezer, a couple of lasagna's or chicken cacciatore's.

I try to time my prep days for a day after grocery shopping. That way if I find a good sale on something like chicken quarters I can process them on my prep day. It's also a good time for chopping vegetables and getting things ready to make mealtimes easier.

This week I baked three batches of orange muffins and two doubled recipe batches of chocolate chip cookies (without the chocolate chips...I know, it's weird but husband and daughter don't like chocolate but love the cookie part, so I do it that way once in a while for them.)

I also put together my mixes that I was short on. I made a large jar of homeade Shake and Bake (which will do us about three or four times), my regular house seasoning mix (two parts salt, one part garlic powder, one part black pepper) I just put that together in a shaker and use it very often as I'm cooking.

This whole process took up just a small portion of my day and I enjoyed listening to one of my favorite radio programs while I worked.

I intended to have pictures of this for you, since I finally got my camera back this weekend, but NOT having batteries for it DOESN'T work for me. So I'll just do that next time.

What DOES work for me though, is having these things done and ready when I need them by spending a few minutes in the kitchen once every couple of weeks. What works for you?

To see what works for other people on the blogosphere please check out We Are That Family for more Works For Me Wednesday.