Final Simplify Post (well, not really)

Doesn't that look peaceful . . .. and amazing?  I think it would be fun to wonder down that path on a cool summer day and life would be Simple.  This will be my (almost) final Simplify post as we start to push toward the holidays.  I say "almost" because I'm sure I'll post an update on what I'm doing this time around as well as a final post.  I'll tell you a little secret . . . .I already know what my theme word is for next year and I am already writing down ideas. 

You can catch up on all of the previous simplify posts by clicking HERE. 

This post is a little different.  I feel like I've hit just about everything I wanted to do to simplify our lives that resolved around the family and home.  Yes, there are still projects to complete - I'm still hoping to have the little projects done in the bathroom and have the kitchen painted by year end.  Otherwise, I'm very happy with where I've come from and where I've ended up! 

There is one big area that I need to work on in order to simplify my life and that is . . . . . Scrapbooking!  My original goal was to be current by year end.  If I keep pushing I might get there but beyond that I have a bunch of projects I would like to get done as well.  A few weeks ago, I cleaned out and organized all of my scrapbooking supplies as well as all of my projects.  I sorted everything into envelopes and then into bins by project and then by year so as I work through my list and I can just pull out what I need and be able to complete the task.  I don't have a "space" anymore for scrapbooking so I had to combine things into storage solutions that will make it easy to pull things out and work at the table. 

Here are my goals for the rest of the year.  I actually have scrapbooking goals written through November 2012 - that helped me lay out which projects go where but I also rework this goal list periodically so it isn't set in stone :-)

September 2011 - Finish 2010 Digitally and Updated our Family Album (pull the envelope and make sure that all of the pictures are in the album; file the duplicates for future projects)  I did not set up this list until halfway through September so I'm actually working on these projects in October.  I can say that I am halfway through December 2010 digitally and I am almost finished with Family Album project.  We did just get a few family shots done last weekend which I need to order and then add to this as well.

October 2011 - Do Jan-March 2011 Digitally; Christmas Ornament project - put pictures in kids 1st Christmas Ornaments; Update Josh and Nate's books (Pull envelopes and make sure all of the pictures are in the albums and file the duplicates for future use; order Josh's 3 year photos and put in his book as well);  Order 20 pages digitally. I finished the Ornament Project (see photo below!)  It was such an easy project, I just never took the time to do it!  I will admit that I printed the photos of Nate from the computer so that they were done until I can locate and/or order the pictures I want.  I didn't want to delay the project though (I should say they ARE the pictures I want, they just aren't on photo paper.)  Also, I've almost finished up Josh's and Nate's books with the exception of the most recent photos from a week ago as well as photos from our last two shoots (I guess I ordered to give to the family but not for their books!).  I will be ordering those this coming week and will update his book as soon as I get them!  I need to finish up Dec/Christmas 2010 so I can start 2011.  As far as ordering pages - I need to wait and see if I can fit it into our new budget yet; it might need to wait a little longer :-(

November 2011 - Do April- October 2011 Digitally (there is one 12 hour crop that I will be going to which will help with this!); Finish Red Pet Album (before Kids, I did an album for our pets and they are so much fun but, now, I've found that it is easier just to do the pet pages in with the regular pages so I want to finish this album since it is for 2008-2009!); Alive Album - I originally started doing an album for all of my husbands concerts but, again, I found that this really isn't a great album and now I include the pages in our regular album so I need to decide what to do with the album I started;  Order another 20 pages digitally.

December 2011 - Do November 2011 Traditionally - assuming that I am current by December (current means working on the month before during the current month) I want to return to more traditional scrapbooking verses digital.  My plan is do make sure that any major events are traditional and, if needed to stay current, I'll do some every day pages digital; Finish "old" album - Several years ago I started a project of going through all of my photos from way back in the day and get them into scrapbooks.  I am so close to being done (I hate working on these albums) that I can taste it but I ran out of pages.  So I need to order the things I need and finish up the pictures so I can be done with it! 
Order 20 more pages.

I've been working diligently all year to get these projects done and I have made huge progress (2008, 2009, 95% of the old albums, the kids books started and almost done; baby books, and more!) but I still have a ways to go.  Just getting my year books current will take so much pressure off of me (except I still need to order ALL of the pages - feel free to donate HA!)  because I just want to enjoy our books!!!

So, here we go and yes, I will keep you updated on my progress :-)

Photos on the Orange Couch!

I'm going to give you a sneak peak of some recent photos a friend did for us.  I'm blessed to have several friends who are fantastic photographers so we took advantage of a recent special that Barb at Signature Photography Studios offered for fall.  It worked out perfect because we needed to get Josh's 3 year photos done!  Now, the disc I received had 270+ photos on it and I took my editing software and "5-starred" the photos that caught my eye as I did a quick run through.  This narrowed it down to 97 photos.  Now, we have to go through those 97 pictures and pick the best of the best so I can edit them :-)  I pulled out some photos to share with you (my parents will LOVE this post!).  I can honestly say that I don't even know if these will be the photos I pick for our wall and give to family but I wanted to just put some up today :)

Even though this was for Josh's photos - Barb threw in a few family shots too (she is good like that)

She also got a few shots of Nate and of the Boys together:

I love this photo - it is a perfect picture of where the boys are at - Josh is standing up and in charge; Nate is sitting quietly watching to see what his brother is doing so he can follow along!

But, the main star of the day was Josh :-)  He LOVED the pumpkins (especially the fake one he could carry around).





Super, duper cute!!!  I am also so happy with the photos that Barb does - she seems to capture the true essence of the boys!  Plus we are in and out in less than 30 minutes!! 

If you live in the Belding, MI area - check out Barbs website (link above) to see what her latest offers are and to schedule photos.

I also have another friend, Lisa, who does wonderful work as well (She took all of the photos of our boys during their first year!).  If you live in the greater Grand Rapids, MI area - check out her WEBSITE as well.  I know she would love to have your business as well! 

Weekly Menu Planner - October 15th

I must say that last week was a pretty good success as far as my menu - we actually ate the meals I had planned :-)  Except for one - my husband ended up making it home on a night he is normally gone so my taco salad plan turned into Meatloaf with Sweet Potato Fries and Peas.  (He's more of a Taco Guy, than a Taco Salad Guy!) 

So, what's on the plan for this week? Check it out below!

Saturday:  Breaded Chicken, Peas, and Potatoes (I don't usually decide what kind to make until the last minute)

Sunday: Lasagna, Garlic Bread and Salad for lunch and Chicken Quesadillas, Chips and Salsa for dinner.   (I just realized that I only have 2 jars of homemade salsa left - I totally missed the tomato season so I think I'll have to buy some from the store and make up a half batch or something!)

Monday: Nacho Casserole and Crock-Pot Corn Bread

Tuesday: BBQ Ribs, Corn, Mashed Potatoes

Wednesday: Taco Salad (a repeat from last week that I didn't make) and Chips and Salsa

Thursday: Creamy Chicken Burritos, Chips and Rotel Dip

Friday:  We are going to a place called Yesterdog for my sons birthday.  It only serves hot dogs :-)  We started this tradition last year and plan to continue it :-)

Snacks: Pumpkin Scones, Pumpkin Cinnamon Roles, Breakfast Bread, Oatmeal Scotchie Cookies

The recipes in Italics I will share IF they turn out tasty! 

Food Friday - Pork Tenderloin and Baked Potatoes

I must say that we had some awesome meals this week!  Even on Thursday night my husband said to me "No one can cook like you and you have just gotten better and better over the past ten years."  Well, that always makes a person feel good!  I had a hard time choosing what to post today but I decided to go with the Pork Tenderloin and Baked Potatoes that we had early in the week.  Even the kids loved it (even though they thought it was Chicken HA!)

Pork Tenderloin
Adapted from: Confessions of a Homeschooler

I love that this slow cooks in the oven verses the slow cooker.  The kids and I were outside and I could smell it cooking all afternoon (I'm sure the neighbors enjoyed it too!).  It was so moist and tender and the seasonings on top just set it all off!!  A few things - I used a 1/2 of a pork tenderloin which was about 3.5 pounds so I cooked it for about 5 hours.  Also, I did not have Onion Salt so I used onion flakes and it worked fine too!

Ingredients:

• 1 Pork Shoulder (or butt) Roast (Mine was about 7lbs)
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Salt
• Onion Salt
• Crushed Pepper (I didn’t put too much b/c of kiddos)
• Parsley

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees
• Place roast in roasting pan, and coat generously with Olive Oil
• Sprinkle a good amount of remaining ingredients over roast and ‘rub’ in so that the roast has a good coating of spices.
• Cook uncovered at 275 for about 6 hours (this may depend on the size of your roast, mine was about 7lbs) It should have a nice salty crust on the outside when it’s finished, and your house will smell wonderful!

Baked Potatoes

I know, who doesn't know how to make baked potatoes?  Well, I had one of THOSE moments.  My oven was busy with the roast set at a low temp so I had to come up with another option for the potatoes when the light bulb went on - the crock pot.  It isn't a new idea - my brother did the potatoes that way at Thanksgiving last year but I never thought about it before!  It is so easy :-)

Ingredients:
6-12 Baking Potatoes

Directions:
Pierce the Potatoes with a fork and then wrap each one in tin foil.  Place potatoes into the crock pot and do NOT add water!!!  Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 2 1/2 - 4 hours. 

How easy is that???

A Fun Little Video

Ok, so I saw this video posted on Facebook today and shared it there.  It seriously made me laugh out loud.



Please understand, this is being posted for the humor only - it is not a stand, not meant to start a debate or anything else :-)  Personally, I've always found Family Feud to be a fun and funny show (depends on the hosts and I actually happen to like Steve Harvey!) so that makes this even better!

Enjoy - and Hopefully I'll get back to my normal posting; I've been spending my evenings working on some other projects and therefore haven't had time to blog :-)

Making Your Home a Haven - Week 2

Please feel free to refer back to my week 1 post Here

Courtney, at Women Living Well, is hosting a Fall Challenge around the theme of making your home a haven.  Last week the challenge was to light a candle and pray for the family.  I did better at praying for my family then I did at lighting the candle - it's been pretty warm here this past week so lighting a candle just wasn't on the top of my list!

This week - we have to "Sing, Dance, Smile, Swoon" - just have fun!

This weeks challenge is to Play soft music every day in your home and then to focus on using peaceful words and maintaining peaceful relationships. 

Some simple ways to do this - if you play in instrument, take time to play it this week.  I'm so guilty of not playing the piano in front of my kids because they like to join me.  I have a wedding to prepare for so I guess now would be a good time to start practicing during the day :-)  Another idea - just play CD's.  I have a 5 disc player so I try to pick 3 kids CD's and 2 grown-up CD's (so I don't go crazy singing "The Wheels on the Bus"!)  I find my kids play better and are better behaved when we listen to music more than watch TV.  I used to be really good at keeping the TV off but this summer, with the horrible heat, we sat and watched tons of TV and now, my kids love "toons"!  I'm still trying to get back to the music though :-)

Once you have the music going, we need to work on ourselves :-) Take time to think before you speak and don't use harsh words.  Pretty simple, right? HA!  Not really, I know but the one thing that I try to do is have patience.  Of course, everything my kids do tends to be slower than I would like or there are extra laughs, flips, and running around but, instead of getting upset, I've starting stopping, even sitting down on the bed or on the floor and laughing with them.  I find that when I am patient, I am also kind :-) Isn't it amazing how those two things go hand in hand?   

You can read Courtney's full post by clicking HERE

What I'm loving Wednesday

I decided to take a week off from my weekly "What I'm Loving Wednesday" post and instead share a video for a song I heard on the radio this week that I really just loved.  Enjoy :-)