Getting Organized Challenge

Over at A Bowl Full of Lemons a whole lot of organizing is taking place!  She is hosting a 21 day cleaning challenge and I've decided to participate in it.  The other day I wrote this post and gave two other links to blogs doing organization topics as well which are also great.  This one caught my attention because it is just small little things (so far).   I'm technically a couple of days behind since I just found this challenge yesterday but one thing I've learned from Flylady after years of flying is that "You are not behind - just start where you are at now!" 

So, Day 1 Challenge is to clear out that junk drawer.  I prefer to call it my "Misc" drawer :-)  I did this today and it took me all of about 10 minutes so don't let that drawer scare you :-)

Before



After

I'm going to link up to Day 1 of a Bowl Full of Lemons to show off my success :-)  Feel free to join up too! 

Day 2 Challenge is:  The Computer Desk - I hope to get that one done Wednesday!

Too Cute Not To "Toot"

As the holidays wind down, there are lots of craft ideas popping up all over the place.  So here we go for another round of "Tootin'" those great ideas!

Josh has a growth chart in his room that I picked up before his first birthday but, to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of it (yes, I liked it at the time but just isn't want I want for the next 20 years).  I saw this idea awhile ago and really fell in love with it.  It is going on my husband's - "you must make this today" list for his next project day!

Click here to see the idea at Lemon Tree Creations

With winter upon most of us, this project would be great - making a blanket!  My mom makes FANTASTIC quilts (I need to do a post on the quilts she made us for Christmas!!) but this is the easy version (for someone like me) 
Check out the great tutorial at oopsey-daisy for an Easy Rag Blanket

Craft-O-Maniac is posting a ton of Valentine's Day ideas.  I must admit, I don't really decorate for Valentine's Day but I do have some ideas I'm planning to do this year.  I would like to add a few things to my stash - I think it will be fun while the boys are young to have things out for each holiday. I thought these letters looked really cute and would be easy to make

This time of year, besides Valentine's Day crafts there are other fun ideas too.  This hand sanitizer bottle is a really easy, cute idea from Living Life Crafty.  I think it would be cute in a classroom by the kids sink or a kids bathroom at home

Over at Twelve Gifts to Christmas, she gives a great tutorial on how to make a "Crayon" Box.  It is really cute . She suggests it as a teacher gift but I think it would also make a great crayon holder for older kids (I wouldn't use it for mine yet - they would pull the crayons off the box to use them!).  It would look adorable on a little desk :-)

I these conversation magnets by Crafts by Amanda where really cute.  She made them specifically for Valentine's Day but you could use them to in place of flashcards sometimes for kids that are learning to read.  Plus they could make simple sentences (Make a worksheet with sentences on it - than have your child make the same sentences using the magnets) It is a super easy, fun craft :-)

And the lost idea for today is from TaraDara Made It and is two fold.  First it is an inspiration board tutorial.  I've seen these done on various design shows as well as on the Flylady site for posting your daily routines.  If you have the space - it is an awesome idea.  For the scrapbooking fanatics out there - it would be a great place to put up samples of your favorite pages, paper, sayings, and more.  The other thing I noticed where her homemade tacks.  They also use the clear beads like the Conversation Magnets above.  There isn't a tutorial but it looks like you just modge podge scrapbook paper (or fabric) on the back and than my guess is that you hot glue a flat tack to it.  I'm thinking I need to make some for my bulletin board :-)

So, start getting crafty :-)  I have a few crafts I'm planning on working on this weekend - 4 to be exact - as well as a long list of others.  Looking forward to having some fun :-)

Planning, Planning, Planning

Isn't this the cutest little place?  We have been planning for about a year, to take our vacation this spring, here, at this adorable little place called "Apple Tree Cottage".  Yes.  A year, folks.  See last year, we went looking for cabins and found this one but you had to rent by the week and we were only looking for 2-3 days.  So I book marked it and last week, wrote my e-mail giving the dates and asking to confirm the price.  Because we go in the "off-season" we get a really good rate.  This place is just awesome - it is twice as big as my house, has a loft for the kids to play in and lots of toys (She'll even paint their names on the door before we get there and you can send photos and she'll put them in the frames!!), a wrap around porch, outside kids toys with bikes and wagons.  I mean it has everything.  I was already planning our week.  Than, today, I got an e-mail back.  Guess what?  They aren't taking any rental applications right now because they are in the middle of a remodel.  Seriously?  When I've been planning for a year??? Come on folks!!!  She suggested e-mailing her back around the 1st of May but, I can't really wait that long because other good, well-priced properties will be gone :-(   I'm a little disheartened as I start my search again.  See, last year, I searched for weeks to find the perfect little place we went to in the UP (and in doing so found the above gem).  Now, I'm back at square one and here, I thought I was done!  So, it is a-searching I will go.  I've already sent one e-mail to a place located on Lake Michigan to find out if our "week" falls into their "off-season" rate but I have a feeling the answer will be no!!!!  We really love Lake Michigan and had hoped to be able to spend a week there . .. I may have to search other areas now though . . .crazy, isn't it?

Spinach Salad with Cranberries, Pecans and Blue Cheese

Yes, I've been posting lots of recipes lately but that's because that's what I've been doing - cooking :-)  This week, life gets back into "normal" and I have crafts to make and show off, organizing projects to share, home updates to blog about and more.  I took a break yesterday and didn't post anything but wanted to post this today :-)  Not sure if I'll get the craft started today that I wanted to share so . . ..this is my "craft" :-)  I have also started posting my weekly menu on the right side of the blog - just scroll down.  I'm still working on it but would like to post links to any recipes that appear on the blog.  I do have more to post from the last few weeks too.  If you haven't guessed, I like to cook :-)

I love Blue Cheese.  I made this recently to go with Sunday dinner despite the fact that I knew my husband wouldn't like it.  Why, you might ask?  He doesn't like salad with "stuff" in it :-(  So I made it more for me and it was SOOO good - I think I'll be planning this one for lunch soon.

This recipe comes from Food Network.

This picture doesn't really do it justice - it tastes so much better!

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound hickory smoked bacon slices, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted and roughly chopped
• 2 (6-ounce) containers baby spinach
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup dried cranberries

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup Danish blue cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Fry chopped bacon in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel-lined 1/4-sheet tray to drain.
Toast pecans in the oven on a 1/4-sheet tray until lightly golden and fragrant, about 6 minutes.
In a medium bowl mash the blue cheese with a fork. Mix in the buttermilk, sour cream, sugar, salt and pepper, to taste.
Combine baby spinach, red onion, pecans, dried cranberries and bacon in large bowl. Toss with the dressing immediately before serving

Notes:
*I did not put the dressing on the salad at all - that way, what ever was left, I could save (which I did) and eat for lunch the following day (which I did!). 

Welcome 2011!! (With a little Life on Purpose and Organization Thrown in!)

Did you make it to Mid-night last night to welcome in the new year?  We did!!  I usually enjoy watching the New Year's Eve shows but . . .some of the music is really getting out there for me.  I wish that the Contemporary Christian Artists did a special - wouldn't it be fun to listen to Christian Artists sing instead???  Shoot, I'd settle for some decent Country Music compared to what I saw last night!! 

What better way to start off 2011 than with a final Life on Purpose list and some links to some other blogs doing Organization challenges. 

For the other Life on Purpose posts click here and here.  Also for another post on evaluating your life for 2011 click here. 

This last Life on Purpose post focuses on setting up your weekly plan.  There are three main documents - a General Weekly Plan, A Specific Weekly Plan, and than the Ta Da List!  You'll be able to click on the documents at the end of this post.

The General Weekly Plan is just that, something general.  It is divided up into "early morning", "mid-morning",
"early afternoon", "late afternoon", "early evening", and "late evening".  Think about what things you want plugged into each square during the week.  This inculdes items such as "cleaning", "office work", "Family time", etc.  General titles - not specific line items.  Leave open blocks if possible so that if something comes up on Monday during the normal cleaning time, you can just move it to an open block during your week and never feel like you are behind. 

The Specific Weekly Plan looks just like the weekly plan when it is blank but now, each week, you will plug in the item(s) you want to get done.  For example, if you have "office" listed for early morning - on Monday, you would list "cut coupons and file" if that is the item you want to get done.  Or on Wednesday, during mid-afternoon cleaning time, you might write "clean bathroom".  This list you can post in your office, on your fridge, above your mirror - where ever you need it - to see your plan for the week.  Again, keep some open slots so you are prepared for things not going the way you planned :-) 

The Ta Da List is your daily To do List.  When you look at the sample provided below, you'll notice two sides to the list.  One side is a list of one item you want to get done in each "topic" that day (I just realized I didn't give you the document that you get this info from!  I'll include that below)  Not all topics will have something on a given day but it gives you something to work toward.  Than the other side is for all of those misc items that come up - a phone call, printing something off, looking something up, etc. 

A very important part to this whole plan is the "Dividing Your Time" worksheet.  I think I had meant to do this in its own post but . . . I'll include it here.  I would label this sheet your 2011 goals.  In studies that have been done by various groups, it has been observed that people cannot do more than 3 things.  So for all of us over-achievers that set 12 large goals a year; maybe this is why we can't reach them???  If you set goals and never reach them, try to pick the top three on your list and focus on those.  In the sample I've included as well as my own list - there are 6.  I couldn't narrow it down any further than that :-(   When you look over the sample - I think it is pretty self-explanatory.  The 6 areas of efforts would be the 6 "goals".  Notice that it includes family, work, and personal interest.  Than, under each item, make a list of the things you want to accomplish.  By doing this first, you can than plug those topics into your general weekly plan and the sub-topics into your specific weekly plan.  Than, on your daily Ta Da list, you include each of those "topics" on the left side of the list (as well as other items, as needed) and list that one item that you want to get done on a given day to help you accomplish the goal. Do you see how it works together??? 

How do you organize all of this?  I would get a three ring binder.  Personally, I would put the Dividing My Time list, first.  This keeps my goals up front where I can see them.  Behind that, I would keep a copy of my Weekly General Plan.  Than, behind that my Life Purpose List, 50 Great Dates, and other worksheets.  You can than keep your weekly specific plan in the binder or put them there at the end of the week so you can look back and see what works and what did not work.  I would personally put my Daily List right on the front of the binder so I can see it on my desk every time I walk by.  

So here are a bunch of documents for you:

Here is the Sample Weekly General Plan (please note, when you get to Google Docs, because it is in excel, you'll have to click to "download it")
Sample
And a Blank One (or you can create it in excel yourself)
blank

And a sample Specific Plan - the "blank" one would be the same as listed above
Sample

And a sample to do list (I do not have a blank one right now)
Sample

I'm not sure yet if I'm going to use the To Da list and Weekly Plan - I worked all year in 2010 on my weekly to do list until I finally found something that included everything for my week (all of my routines) and misc items on one sheet that I print every Sunday Night.  I like very specific lists so this works for me but I have made up a weekly plan for this coming week just test it out.  Here is a sample of my current weekly plan - this is from back in October and I have changed it up some but it give you an idea.

Sample

And finally, just for fun - here is a bunch of quotes for you :-) 

quotes


And Organization! (Whew! almost done!)

Sassy Sites is holding an Organization Giveaway during the whole month of January.  Just click Here to learn more and link up.  I'll be taking pictures of my bathroom that I'm planning on finishing up in January.

The Speckled Dog is doing a "Kick the Clutter in 2011" challenge.  Click here to see all posts related to the theme.  She is posting before and after pictures and wants you to also :-)  Last year my theme word was "declutter" so I have done a lot of this but this year my word is "Simplify" so I will continue to declutter, finish projects, and just make our home more . . simple, enjoyable, and just comfortable :-)

Welcome to 2011 - the year to be organized :-)

Christmas Post (Finally)

I'm a little late on my Christmas post but I just downloaded pictures today from Christmas weekend. 

This year, we decided to go to my parents house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  We surprised my mom by showing up early since Darryl didn't work.  I called her to ask her to leave the door unlocked for us since she would be at the Christmas Eve Service but, than said "How about if you just open the garage door for us now"  She didn't believe us until she actually walked out and saw us unloading LOL

Josh - heading to grandma's.  Notice the shoes?  Yep, those are mine.  He refused to take them off and wore them the whole trip. 

Nate with his laughing frog - ready for the ride!!

 We all went to the Christmas Eve Service together.  Josh was not into sitting quietly through a service so he and I ran laps through the church until I finally locked us in my dad's office.  He drew pictures on Grandpa's white board and ate lots of cashews!!

Once we got home, we enjoyed our normal Christmas Eve Snack fest.  This year we had Shrimp, Cheese Ball and Crackers, Mini Crescent Dogs, and Chili Cheese dips.  Josh's favorite, though, were the peanut butter bars :-)

The last things we did that night was let the boys open their Christmas Eve gifts.  They each got new Pajama's and a musical book.  Nate's plays bedtime songs and Josh's is actually a piano.  After this, we did baths, put on the new PJ's and read "The Night Before Christmas" before putting them to bed.

 The boys each have a stocking :-) Which they don't get to open until Christmas Morning

Nate, waiting for Christmas breakfast, not sure about this look LOL

 Nate got into opening his stocking - trying to save his stuff from his brother!!

Josh loved the little flashlight that grandpa put in his stocking.

Josh got lots of presents.  He loves this sesame street bus.  And he got a big Thomas the Train set which he is figuring out how to put together.  Not to mention a little people fire house, a stuffed elephant webkin, matchbox cars and more.  He was THRILLED!!!

 Nate figured out how to open his gifts slowly.  He got this really neat musical stack able table, some trucks, this great little cow that makes noise when you roll it, a Weebles house and extra Weebles, and more.  He loved every moment of the day! 

We loaded up the car on Saturday night (loaded to the gills) and headed home.  Than we got ready for our little family Christmas.  The kids were in bed so we brought in their toy boxes and bean bag chairs and than put gifts inside the boxes.  We are thinking this will be a tradition - the week before Christmas, we'll go through all of their toys and let them pick out the things they don't play with.  Than, we will leave the toy boxes empty and the night before our Christmas, we'll wrap their toys and put them in their toy boxes. 

 Nate peering into his toy box.

 Josh got a new drum filled with all kinds of percussion instruments (yes, I bought him this LOL) along with a piano, and a 2 in one scooter.  He also got lots of little people stuff :-)

 Nate got a 2-in-1 scooter and a really cool bath toy, plus a driving toy.  And lots of little people things!

 Josh playing with toys as I got them put together - he had a blast on Sunday just playing!

 The train set - Nate loves to tear it apart quickly!! While Josh loves to play for hours with it going "Choo Choo"

The new bath toy - it makes bubbles and plays music.  Both boys love it!

So Christmas was a blast.  The kids were blessed with lots of things from the grandparents, for the church and from others.  My parents surprised us with some awesome gifts too (Like a Tassimo coffee maker!!)  Lots of fun memories and laughs were had by all :-)

Turkey Vegetable Soup with Stuffing Balls

We had this soup last night with the last of the leftovers from our Turkey dinner on Sunday.  It was pretty easy and very tasty. 
This is a Food Network Recipe.

Ingredients

• Carcass from one 12-14 pound roasted turkey, picked clean
• 2 large onions, one quartered and one chopped
• 4 peeled carrots, 2 coarsely chopped and 2 sliced
• 4 stalks celery, 2coarsely chopped and 2 sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, 4 smashed and 2 chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large eggs
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more as needed
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 cups leftover stuffing
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 cups shredded leftover turkey meat
• 1 cup leftover corn kernels

Directions

Put the turkey carcass, quartered onions, coarsely chopped carrots and celery, smashed garlic, bay leaf, and peppercorns in a large stockpot and add enough cold water to just cover, about 2 quarts. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook for 1 hour. Remove from the heat and strain the solids from the broth. Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer and reserve; you should have about 10-12 cups broth.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk the eggs, flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and some black pepper together until smooth. Add the stuffing and mix until well combined; cover and reserve.

Wipe the stockpot clean with a paper towel. Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the sliced carrots and celery, thyme sprigs, and reserved broth and bring to a simmer; cook vegetables are just soft, about 10 minutes.

Roll level tablespoons of the dumpling mixture into balls with wet hands (see note) and drop into the simmering soup; cook until dumplings float, 3-4 minutes. Gently stir in the turkey meat, corn, and season with salt and pepper, and simmer until heated through. Serve immediately.

Note: Moistness of stuffing can vary; if the dumpling dough is too soft to roll, add flour a teaspoon at a time until it is firm enough to hold its shape while rolling

My Notes:
*I did not have a pot pig enough to submerge the Turkey Caucass so I broke it up a little bit and than just filled the pot up as full as was feasible and let the rest of the carcass stick out of the water. 
* I did not have leftover stuffing since I didn't make stuffing - I made a small box of Stove Top and it was just over two cups of stuffing.  Next time, though, I would make the stuffing in advance - I had to stick mine in the freezer because I didn't want scrambled eggs by adding the egg mixture to hot stuffing!!!
*This makes a ton of really good Turkey stock - for our family of four, in the future I will only use have the stock and freeze the rest for another batch of soup later.  I'm thinking of straining out my soup after lunch today and freezing what is left because there is a ton!!!