Change is okay.

It is okay to make changes.

It is okay to make changes.

So why is it hard to let them happen?

Some one once told me I am a creature of habit. I never have seen myself as that, mainly because I don't seem to stick with anything well. I get an idea or some grand notion and shoot off the edge with it. Before I know it, it is pulling me in seven million directions overwhelming me to the point of just shutting down. I jump back in to menu planning, which I did really well about 10 years ago, and every time I stride forward it get kicked back a few steps. I have a wonderful menu plan all written out, haven't followed it one day this week.

So...I say...It is okay to make changes.

On the flip side of that, I have created some pretty great dishes and the family is eating what ever I put out there. Monday night I made an awesome chicken chile casserole. I used low fat cheeses and baked chicken to stick with my weight loss goals. I know it was good as hubby and both children had second helpings. On the down side, I am so used to cooking for more that I forget sometimes and end up making way too much. I could have made two pans and froze one, even thought about that at the time, but it was a new dish and didn't want to mess with freezing something that no one ate. In looking at the positive side, I have lunch for work...and then some. Then tonight, I had a little extra time to prepare so made a baked kind of hamburger steak dish with some steamed mixed veggies. The meat was good, the veggies didn't cook long enough. So goes it, but it was eaten anyway. Well almost, I cooked for four, son was home but didn't eat. While supper was cooking tonight, I was the eager little beaver and cooked up the meat for tomorrow's dinner change. I am making crock pot sloppy joe's. A huge hit with the family and the crock pot works on Wed. which is a crunch night for supper time.

As I was saying about jumping off the edge with good intentions. I have a passion for quilting. At least until my dad passed away. Kind of lost the interest in a lot of things when that hit my life. He was and will always be my hero. I finally got all the machines cased up and stored. It was harder in some ways not so hard in other ways. I want to be quilting, sewing, making things. I truly love it. But now my life is different and I have to change with that. Some day, I will be organized enough to quilt once again. Actually I am hoping to have the house in some type of order by summer so that when school starts back I can sew and quilt once again. When dear son goes off to college out of town, I will invade his room. Until then, it is only dreams of projects. I haven't stored my crazy quilt supplies away just yet, that was the last thing I was really in to before I went a little crazy and decided I needed to work. Now I just have not got it together enough for extras. I go to work, think about what needs to be done at home. I get home, think about what needs to be done at work. In retrospect, there are more reasons I should not be working than reasons I should. But, life goes on.

On a more positive note, I do have my organizing moments. I was able to get all the meat I had bought on sale bagged up and in the freezer. The ground beef was pretty much cooked up, not a lot to bag there. I used some in tonight's supper, some in the sloppy joe's, then bagged up two bags from the remaining. Worked out pretty well as it was a little over 4 pounds and I will get four meals from it. The pork chops came out to 5 bags, so five meals. Two chops in each bag. Thing is, they are so thick that we will be able cut through the thickness easily halving them. So, that is four chops a bag pretty much. The little chops that were probably the end pieces are in a bag by them self, found an interesting recipe that calls for cubed pork. Also have two roast that I bagged up as well along with some fish fillets we bought at Sam's Club. They were being given as samples and the taste was just awesome. So...I pretty much have a full kitchen to work with once again. Pantry is stocked, a few minor items that I need to buy some time, but not much at all. In the freezer I have chicken, pork, beef, and seafood. Now that is a great feeling.

Speaking of great feelings, that was having hubby see the fence patch job I did and seem to agree with it. Sunday night we had storms blow in and blew our fence down in to the neighbors yard. He has some missing planks on his gate, so of course our two outside dogs head to his yard, find the hole and out they go. This morning, I had not been at work long when son calls to tell me that all three were gone. Now that two outside ones will just come back or go sit on the front porch. But little Kit, well...he was just gone. I left work to find dogs, on the way to the house son calls to tell me he found them. I could have gone back to work right there, probably should have, but it just seemed that something needed to be done about the fences. While the fallen sections are not repaired, they are up at least for the time being. I bought some temporary fencing to go across the damaged sight as well. Another day off with no pay, man the checks will be lighter, but I had to take care of my dogs, especially little Kit. I have gotten so attached to him.

Okay, I have gotten a great start on organizing the place, am mindful of the budget and got the sale goods in the freezer. Soon, I hope, I will be able to sit down and work on crochet, quilting, crazy quilting, or some sewing. Until then, I choose to look at the positive. Since I am working, I am going to quit throwing money at the kids and problems, just want to watch that account grow.

I am off now to take a nice warm bath...since I am not freezing cold...and maybe make it to bed before midnight. Until next time.

Start of another week.

I am keeping this short as I am doing some research online until my son gets home. He went with some friends to the coast and the storm hit a few hours ago so am a bit anxious about their drive home. Youngest daughter doesn't have school tomorrow, Washington's birthday, so is spending the night with a friend.

Another week is starting so that means it is menu time.

I will have some sweets to go with this, just not sure exactly what yet. I didn't get as much done this week end as planned, was very lazy and letting myself get over the sinus infection that is still lingering a bit. At any rate, here is the plan for dinner time around here.

Mon: Bacon Bits & Cheddar Chicken bake, Broccoli, Ca. Raisin Salad

Tue: Ca. Casserole, Frito Salad

Wed: CP Sour Cream & Bacon Chicken, Carrots, Sweet Peas

Thu: Rachael Ray's Beef Onion Stir Fry, Chili Releno Casserole, Rice

Fri: Salisbury Steak, Brussels Sprouts, Corn

Sat: Sloppy Joes, Chips

Sun:Beer Can Chicken

We plan to go camping this coming week end, if we do then the menu will change. We will be packing Friday, so for supper will just wing it out of the fridge. Then it would change to the following.

Sat: Lunch - Burgers or Sandwiches and chips. Supper - Steak, Baked Potato and Salad

Sun. Lunch will be chili dogs.

We have the same thing every time we go camping. It is just a given, kind of a tradition. I went ahead and planned the week end as if we would be here, our weather around here is waves of storms that are hitting one after the other. So far the week end forecast is looking pretty positive, but we will see. At the moment the wind is really blowing hard and for this area that is not a good thing since it usually causes a lot of damage because the ground here is not accustomed to standing up to that type of weather. In other words, the roots systems are very shallow, trees not very strong, and this time of year a lot of unplanted fields.

That is it for now. Be sure to pop on over to Laura's site, "Organizing Junkie" and look at all the other Menu Monday planners listings. The link is on the side bar of this blog. Stop in here any time to see what I have added and am doing.

Happy Valentine's Day

I have to admit, I was absolutely the most gullible child there ever was. I was probably at least close to ten year old before I understood that Valentines Day was not for me. You see, I was born on Feb. 10 and my parents got the call that I was available for adoption on Valentine's Day. It always meant something else for us. I was born in San Antonio, so that has always been a bit of "family legend" too. My brother was the one to get me from the back pew of the church to take me to my parents. He told me that my belly button was the scar from where the Indian shot me and how he fought the Indians off at the Alamo to save me. Of course...he is my hero big brother so never thought he would color the truth a bit. The history teacher set me straight, informed that the battle of the Alamo did not take place the year I was born. Thanks to her kind directions about looking things up, and a much loved uncle that lived for history, I was however able to come back and tell the teacher about my true heritage or legacy of the ancestors that did fight there. My family is some how tied to Edward Burleson, never have proven the connection, but my dear sweet dad was a dead ringer for him. So much so that when he went to stand beside Edward's portrait at the Alamo for a photo opt it completely threw the ranger who was giving a talk. Then dad explained about the family connection and the ranger took the photo for my dad.

Okay, so you see now why Valentine's for me is not the romantic holiday that it is for others. It just got me thinking back as I was going through recipes for red velvet cake...which I always had for my birthday...while attempting to pull some new recipes off the internet. We are going out to eat in a little while and have called ahead finding out it is a two hour wait. Man, if the economy is so depressed would hate to see how the long the wait would be in good times.

Of course when I live in sunny California and it is only in the 40's with snow in the higher elevations, I find it a bit hard to take in the global warming theory as well. Can't people think on their own? Al Gore has stated his case by referencing temperatures in the ice cap from like 10,000 years ago. Come on...hello? The ability to even measure temperature didn't come along until Galileo Galilei invented the first thermometer, called a thermoscope, and it could only measure variations in water. Absolutely not measure feet deep in ice caps that weren't even know of. Why does society so easily believe what ever is feed to them by the media. Like the economy, and the new stimulus bill. It isn't going to work, will only cost the average citizen more money to navigate life with, and is being shot full of all kind of special interest requirements.

My idea of an economic package. You want me to stimulate my economy? Take that money and just give me a chunk to spend on what ever my needs are. If you take the proposed amount of the package, divide it between all legal residents of the US over the age of 21, it would come to like $400,000 each. Rounded off approximate math. I could pay off my home which would boost the banks, then I could buy a new car which would help the auto industry. I could also buy some new furniture, a few clothes, a new computer, that would all help the retailers. Would still have enough to pay for a few groceries and help out the farm, ranch and dairy industries. Who by the way have seen their lively hoods auctioned off because government would not bail them out. Guess they don't have the right lobbyist. Seems to me I remember the energy industry needing some help and government refused them, they cleaned their own acts up and are now making huge profits. Automakers should clean their own acts up, but then the union wouldn't be able to settle on who actually is authorized to push the broom. While the unions were a good thing in the past, now they are leading the economic problems. For those living in California, remember the grocery strike? Now this area can't even get a Super Walmart built. MY WORD, imagine a way for families to afford groceries and household items. It is shocking. So is the fact that a majority of citizens on government assistance would rather stay on it than to earn a living because the democratic led congresses of the past have made it financially more beneficial to live on the system than to have a little self respect and earn your own way.

Okay, am on a soap box I know, but am getting more and more disheartened with my own state as well as the nation with each stroke of pen that never stops to even consider how that signature will affect any one else. I voted for our governor, felt he would be a better one than Gray Davis. Arnold Shwartzenagger is going off the wrong end in a deep way lately. Wonder if his Hummer passes the emissions test he is proposing for the state.

Back to a better topic, menu planning, this past week went very well. There were a few little hiccups along the way though. I had planned on making roast in the middle of the week, but...found out late Tuesday night that hubby had used the roast for his award winning chili. So, I thought I would just get up early, run to the store, pick up a roast, put it on and it would be back on track. I was home sick on Monday and Tuesday, it was very hard to get up on Wednesday so was all I could do to actually get to work on Wednesday. All morning while I worked I ran through my head what I had on hand...not much as far as ready meals since I was sick all week end and got nothing done...so finally decided to pick up burgers on the way home. I know I had vowed I wouldn't, but illness causes a person to think a little differently. I was headed out the door and texted my son to see if he would be eating at home so I would know how much food to pick up. He then informed me that he was making dinner for us. Kind of a trial run for the Valentine's meal he was making for his girlfriend.

He cooked Chicken Cordon Bleu, rice pilaf and sauteed spinach. Doesn't it look good? It was good too, very good. I have never had a meal cooked for me for romantic reasons. I must have done a little something right along the way.

Okay, enough for tonight. We had a great meal at the Outback tonight. They are making some changes in their menu starting in March to make it more money friendly. While I am all for that, when there is a two and half hour wait to get a table it just doesn't seem like that kind of change is needed. But hey, just my own humble little opinion.

Monday

I actually am up and going now. I am joining a really great group of bloggers through an awesome sight called I'm An Organizing Junkie which all about getting organized. Her helpful hints and resource information is the greatest. Has helped me so much. You really should check out her blog.

She is big in to menu plans so devotes one day a week to just menu plans. Other link their blogs so you can visit their sites and see what everyone is having that week. I have joined the group as well. For a couple of reasons actually.

For one, it makes me actually write out the menu.

Two, it holds me accountable to stick with it so to speak.

Three, the family has said that they would help if I tell them what to do. I plan the menu, print it out along with the recipes and all they have to do is look in the notebook. My daughter J was so excited when she saw it. She only had one question, "this will be where I can look at it?" and I told her yes... she just smiled and said "cool" so guess that is good. We will see how it works out.

So here goes: My first Menu Plan Monday

Mon: Stuffed Peppers, Hot Potato Salad, Strawberries & Bananas

Tue: Avocado Chicken Casserole, Broccoli

CP Wed: Bubbly Ranch Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Green beans

Thu: Baked Chicken Strips, Rice, Carrots, Salad

Fri: Spaghetti, garlic bread

Sat: Steak, Baked Potato, Frito Salad

Sun: Chili Dogs, Chips

We may be camping out over the week end, but the meal won't change. Also, it should be noted that Wednesday will be Crock Pot Wednesday around here. As I explained in earlier posting that is a hectic day for supper meal.

I have chicken breast cooking in the crock pot that I will cut into cubes and slices then bag up so the meat is ready to go for different recipes. I am home sick today, but will have to make some shopping trips to get some groceries and ink for the printer. Son G needed something printed for class, now I have to get ink, print it, and take it to him on his lunch break between classes. I have a doctor's appointment after that, then home to cook.

Well, I have some laundry to get done, dishes to do, and a few more groups to visit so I can find some more interesting recipes to try.

Day 3 - the crud

Well, day three of the crud. Okay, actually two and half days since it actually hit Thursday afternoon, but it feels like ten. My nose is dual action, stopped up in the top all the way to the back of my eyeballs, a raging waterfall from the face to the end of the nostrils. I am on my second box of tissue...very thankful someone figured out how to load lotion in them.



This was my week end goals and how it has shaped up.



1. Prepare menu plans -done for at least on week

2. Household shopping done - doing tomorrow

3. Mini cooking session - doing tomorrow afternoon

4. Finish cleaning bedroom -not happening

5. Shampoo bedroom carpet - weather to bad to move furniture out.

6. Laundry - in the works

7. Write out personal budget - started, not finished

8. Hit the gym for at least 30 minutes - cold has me too loopy to work out.



Finally after several hours...okay, more like only two...but when your mind is frustrated beyond all reason, and swimming about with the effects of the flu...it felt like at least six hours...I finally succeeded in installing my new MasterCook 9 program. This program is so much better than I had thought it would be. It is the best. I created a cookbook for menu planning, typed in all the recipes I wanted to make this week, then created a menu plan which then allowed me to not only print it out, it printed all the recipes and a shopping list. It will take quite a bit of time to type in all my recipes, but it will be worth it. Also, once I get my pantry inventory typed in the shopping list will look for items I already have and take those off the list so I am not overbuying. Also, it has this cook web tool which allows you to capture recipes off the Internet and from emails with out having to type them in each time you find one. Now, the negative aspects that I have found are very few, but are worth mention. One is that there is no way, that I have found anyway, to list dishes or items you don't have a recipe for so that is shows up on your shopping list as a part of the menu plan. In other words, I had to type in a recipe for chili dogs so that the wieners and buns would be listed on the shopping list. Same thing if you want iced tea or koolaid or pudding. The other negative is the amount of time it will take to enter all the information to make the most of the program. Which actually is a positive, because all those details...the more accurate the info, more accurate the info...is what makes the program run the way I bought it for in the first place. I had an old version of MasterCook a few years ago and had found some great cookbooks already formatted and was able to download them. Sadly, I lost them on one of the several crashes and now have Vista which as much as I love it I have to admit does not play nice when it comes to ease of new installations. At any rate, I am really happy to have my MC up and working. I did the math. To get menu plans worked up through the end of June (my goal) I counted the days. The thing is that we want to cut back on eating out, only do so twice a month on pay days. I only plan supper in the meal plans, no one is home during lunch, I take left overs to work for my lunch, and since I never know who is actually going to be home, I plan on 4 servings. At any rate, starting on Monday, that works out to 155 meals to plan, 20 of which will be crock pot Wednesday recipes. That is a lot of dishes to come up with...I am up to the challenge though.

This weather is crazy. When I first felt sick on Thursday, it was in the 70's around here. The storms blew in and the rain and the fog and today it didn't reach 50. A couple of days next week it is forcasted to be in the low 40's. No wonder I can't get well. Hot and cold temperatures, at least it is weather for a change and not the menopause storms.

Off to take some medicine and a nice warm bath.

Popping in.

Just when I think I am well, here I go again. I know have the stupid head cold that descended on me in a quick and furious action. I would like to say that I caught it at work, no less than half a dozen co-workers have, still have some lasting effects of, had this crud. But, looking back over my blog postings I realize that I have been sick a while. Truthfully, it started just after Christmas and I think we just pass it around to each other.

Nothing new really going on. Am still on track with cooking at home each meal this week. Okay, technically, hubby cooked last night, but even he was impressed with how much easier it went and has agreed to help on Wednesday nights. He gets home a little after 4 and I don't get home until about 5:30, then have to head right back out the door to take J to confirmation class. Thankfully, he is most agreeable that she does not need to keep eating fast food on the way to keep from eating supper at 8:00...or living off of peanut butter sandwiches. Wasn't that in a recall? Oh yeah, just my favorite little crackers with peanut butter between them... that I love and have been yanked from store shelves.

I didn't make the contest, so am kind of bummed out about that. I know for a fact it could have helped me make a huge difference in my life. But, I have thought about it and made my own changes. I decided I couldn't justify the money for the program they were offering the people that didn't make the contest. Besides, in doing a little further research, found it was not exactly what they had led me to believe. When it all came down to it, the fine print stated that the trainers were available, not that there was actual sessions with them. I get that at the gym I belong to as it is. I would dearly love to have that metabolic testing to see what diet would work with my body, but I took the step in faith and went ahead and showed up at the church and have joined that program called First Place 4 Health. It is realistic in its guidelines, a wonderful bible study goes with it as well, most important is I get out of the house. I am trying to get myself back in the gym, which hasn't happened since the meeting with the trainer the first part of January, but I was also holding back a bit to see what came of this contest. Now that things are decided, so to speak, I can go forward with making household plans around everything that needs to be done.

I am still working on getting my menu going, just need to get the recipes together. I do at least have a plan of action and have initiated it. We get paid over the week end, so on Sat. will go do the grocery shopping. Thankfully the cost will be minimal as I still pretty well stocked, but there is a sale on chicken and I am down to two packages. It is such a good deal, am thinking it will be on the menu three times a week at least. I make sure we do not have the same kind of meat twice in a row so that family doesn't get burned out. Also, have decided that Thurs. will be crock pot day. The week ends will be for major cooking sessions while the laundry is going. At least for the next two weeks there won't be ice skating for J as she hurt her ankle and is on crutches.

Man, just how much snot can drain out of one nose? My trusty buddy Kit is laying in the bedroom with me, showing great concern with each blast of my nose in a tissue. He is always so glad to see me when I come through the door at the end of the day.

I had to pop in though and share this You Tube info with you.
Chef Todd Mohr is the link to this chef on You Tube. He has easy to understand lessons for cooking. If it worked correctly, this should link you his Fruit Smoothie segment. He has over a hundred and on every topic about cooking. How to cut up the breast of a chicken, how to bread meat, even shirring and egg. It is pretty great to watch and learn.

I got all the romance books posted and are now stored in alphabetical order in case someone wants to request one from the Paperback Book Swap. They are tucked away under my bed. I will work on finishing emptying my bookcase in the bedroom so I can move it out and toy with some different arrangements of the desks in here. He isn't going to go for it, but think hubby's side may need a smaller computer desk. Have to keep both our desk fairly close as we share a printer. In other words, cord is plugged back and forth between computers. Would probably be cheaper to buy an additional printer.

Okay, have wasted enough time, need to get back to my planning and such. Am about to tackle my absurdly huge list of Yahoo groups I belong to and whittle it down significantly. If I miss that "greatest of great all time ever" recipe, than so be it. I have learned that all I have to do is Google it. Yes, I know, I am a slow learner sometimes. But, the important thing is I do learn. I am trying to make my plans in the most efficient line of task possible. You know, plan the meals first so I can get the grocery shopping done, then while I cook up a storm have the laundry going and such. I still have get the MasterCook loaded on to my Vista running computer, but have been assured that it is possible by people on the group that have already done it.

I also plan to have menu plans created so I can join the group that post to their blogs every Monday their menus for the week. I will give more details about that when I am successful in that endeavour. So...of I go in search of more tissue so I can get back to organizing.

Goals for the weekend:
1. Prepare menu plans
2. Household shopping done
3. Mini cooking session
4. Finish cleaning bedroom
5. Shampoo bedroom carpet
6. Laundry
7. Write out personal budget
8. Hit the gym for at least 30 minutes

Successful or not, will post how I did over the weekend on Tuesday. Monday night will be at First Place meeting hoping I see a loss on the scale.

Midweek

It is late but in order to keep my goals going, one being better updating of the blog, I am determined to post, however short, something to the blog. I finished posting my books to Paperback Book Swap, now have over 70 in the virtual bookshelf. I have created a master list of all of them, in AZ order, and printed it out. Also generated a list from my bookshelf and printed it out so have been able to make sure that I have all of them listed. They are now alphabetically listed and stored in a large plastic bin that is flat enough to go under the bed. Okay so I am reusing the bin as before round one of the cleaning madness it held fabric.

I am going to start a new blog, with a different name, with the main goal of posting my progress on the gym/diet journey. I have more to say, but my eyes are watering, skin is crawling and itching all over, so know I need to take a bath and some medication.

I will be doing some more organizing, cleaning, and general purging this week end. My MasterCook software arrived and hope to get it loaded soon so I can really get organized. More another time.

Here I go - new start

Well, here I go. New start and all. I am taking steps to change my life and here is where I will post about it.

First, an update since the last posting.

I tackled the fabric stash and then some. Gave away on local freecycle group 16 black trash bags stuffed full of fabric, 10 plastic grocery bags full of sewing patterns, a few music books, some shoes, a table cloth, and two trash bags full of men's clothes. The fabric that I did keep is now neatly stored in a manageable amount of plastic bins all in the area hubby delegated to me in the garage. Oh, and I found my big pressure cooker for canning. I finally have the living room all cleaned up and presentable now, along with the dining area and kitchen. Three rooms down, several more to go. I also got my aquarium all cleaned out finally and redressed. It is so pretty and clean now. OH MY GOSH! what an ordeal that was. The catfish had dug in to a fake plant he had managed to turn over and had grown after going in. We tried everything to get that guy out. Hubby ended up taking him to the workbench and with a dremmel tool broke the plant open to remove him, getting finned for his efforts. Broken fins, out of the water for way too many minutes, was sure he would be found floating the next morning. He is still swimming around. I bought a new smaller aquarium and filled it with the old water and put the fish in it while we did massive cleaning on the big one. I think it is 35 gallons, the big one that is. The new one is only ten. I figured that it would be easiest on the fish to just move them to an aquarium that had the water they were used to, as opposed to trying to catch them - bag them - float them - then release them. I am happy to say I did not loose one fish.

I am not sure now what to do with the smaller aquarium, am thinking about turning it in to a saltwater set up, it takes so long to start though as you have to let the water set for about 6 weeks before you can add fish. I am however going to discuss it with the people at the pet store because they sell this stuff called instant sea. Salt water fish are so much more colorful, brighter and bolder colors, so much more expensive. But, that size tank would only hold about three fish anyway, saltwater fish, maybe 5. May just leave it a regular tank and get some regular fish, maybe some of those really neat looking koi type goldfish with the long wavy fins.

Of course hubby has no idea that I actually am planning a third aquarium, unless he goes and reads this. What can I say, I love aquariums, the sound is peaceful, they are easy to take care, and something very relaxing about watching them swim aimlessly about. If I ever find a mermaid for my big tank I am getting her.

Since hubby got that nasty carpet in the hallway pulled up and the wonderful wood laminate floor down, it is so nice now that our socks and feet stay clean when we walk down it. Of course that also means that now you can hear anyone and everyone that walk down the hall, especially Kit, whose little claws just clickty clack as he heads this way or that. Unless he is running, he hasn't quite figured out yet that the new floor is a bit more slippery than the carpet, sometimes he just bounces off the wall to make his turn. Kind reminds me of old time pinball games.

Pop the flippers make the puppy bounce to the left, pop the flipper he goes to the right. Depends on which way he is headed.

I have listed some books for sale on Amazon.com and have actually already sold a couple. I also found this great website called Paperback Book Swap where you can post paperback books you want to get rid of and can get ones you would like to read. NO MONEY is involved. No one is buying, no one is selling. You agree to pay media rate postage to send a book you have that some one requests, they pay the same to send one you would like to you. I have over 50 romance novels and have listed and boxed them up and they slide under the bed, out of the way. I figure no one wants to pay for old ones on eBay or Amazon (the automatic shipping cost is more than the book is worth) and would have to mess with listing, hoping some one wants them and still have to have them stored. This way, I can just list them all and then find some I want to read. It is not just romance, all kinds of genre of paperback books. They have a group for CD and DVD swaps as well.

I do however have some craft type hardback books to go through and thin down and those will be listed on Amazon as well. Am going through all my cookbooks and cooking magazines in an attempt to come up with some dinner ideas as well. I am renewed in my goal of menu planning since hubby has offered to help with cooking evening meals a couple of times a week and seeing that daughter J does some as well. They all get home way before I do and with a little bit of planning this family may just get to have the evening meal before 9:00 pm again. We really need to change our spending habits or we are going to be in trouble quick and since I admit that we eat out way too much (SHH! Don't tell hubby I just said that) the easiest way to cut the budget back is by reducing the spending.

Planning a menu not only makes wise use of time it also reduces the cost of food. You know what you are going to have, when you are going to have it, are able to shop the sales to maximize your purchase dollar, so it makes sense. Hubby stated that he only cooks steak, burgers, and tacos. I came back to that stating that there was three evenings a week. Oldest son, if we can get him home that is, cooks great chicken fajita and Parmesan chicken. Hubby said that if I would leave a recipe or directions, set the meat in the fridge the night before so it can thaw, he would see that it gets cooked. That means he will tell daughter J what to do. She is 12 and needs to be learning. When I was her age I would come home from school and make dinner for my parents and I. My dad always stated that I should write a cookbook "100 Ways To Cook Ground Beef" as I was always making casseroles. I grew up on them and left overs. My family is spoiled and not so big on casseroles and will not eat left overs at all...if they know it is left overs. Maybe I should make a day of the week to be casserole day, could even post the recipe to this blog. Maybe so, "100 weeks of casseroles" that would be almost a week of dinners right there. Well, between hubbies three recipes, son's and then a casserole. If I can get my act together and make them ahead, then J can just pull it out of the freezer and pop it in the oven when she gets home from school. That would really help since two days a week she has activities of an evening and it is hard to get dinner for her before she goes, but is late when she is done.

I may have to give that some more thought.

Back to the subject of organizing, I have the latest version of MasterCook on it's way, first order was lost the replacement is supposed to arrive tomorrow. MAN Amazon was great about this one. At any rate, the program will save your recipes, generate a meal plan from your recipes, generate a shopping list, you can even generate a pantry inventory and it will automatically check for the items on your shopping list and leave off what you have on hand. Nutrition analysis of each recipe as well as cost analysis will be great for the trimming of the budget and the waist.

Speaking of which, a local radio station is having their own version of Biggest Loser. I managed to get in to the group interviewed, but would seem that since I did not get an email notice yesterday that I did not make it in to the final 20 for the contest. I am really disappointed at this, more than I thought I would be. The contestants are doing a program with a fitness place and will get 4 days a week with a trainer and nutrition plan set up for their body needs. The contest will last 12 weeks, the winner (or the biggest loser) will get $2,000. Now, those interviewed that did not make the contest are offered the same program, at a fee (large fee) and will follow everything the contest does. At the end of that, of those on the program, for a fee, the one loosing the most weight will get $500 which more than pays for the cost of the program. I am really considering doing the program. On one hand, I cannot get that much time with a trainer at my gym for any where that low a cost. The nutritional plan or diet is worth a lot to me as well as I don't know whether I need to cut carbs, increase carbs, cut fats, good and bad fats, count calories, or just what. While it is cheaper than something like Nutrisystem or Jenny Craig, it is more expensive than Weight Watchers. The thing with buying the food is I still have to fix meals for my family, there fore doubling my food cost. WW is great in that sense, but some of their recipes would break the budget for sure with all the roasted red peppers, almond milk, sun dried tomatoes and such. Why is it that low fat, fat free always seems to equal no taste and cost more? And when talking about the budget tightening, can I really justify the cost of doing the plan? Okay, do I need a personal trainer? No, but would sure help me be more effective with my work out and supportive of my goals. Do I need diet planning? Absolutely, but there may be cheaper methods. Our church just started a new class for nutrition management (weight loss or diet in other words) called First Place. I have done this program before, was pretty satisfied with the results. The cost is a little high, but not nearly as high as the contest program, especially when you factor in that I am already paying for a gym membership and the contest program is through another gym. One that has significantly less hours of operation. The gym I belong to is also the same gym my daughter in law belongs to and since her work hours are about the same as mine, and since she has classes (college to be a preschool teacher) after she gets off, we could work out together later in the evening after I have gotten dinner ready. It is a lot to consider before making a decision of which way to work this. Not working it is not an option, I need to loose 70-75 pounds, in a healthy and realistic means. This is when having the meals cooked up ahead of time would be very beneficial. There is a place in town where I can go and put together meals for the freezer, for a substantial cost, which I can do on my own, if I just knew how.

Maybe now would be a good time to pull out the cooking for the freezer cookbooks I have on the shelf along with the once a month cooking and fix it and forget it crock pot cooking as well. Which I didn't really need to buy since I can Google an overwhelming amount of the same type recipes. I am pretty sure those books are sitting right next to the budget homemaking and organizing your home books (like Sidetracked Homemakers) am pretty sure they are right there with that journal I made with the help of Fly Lady.

Okay, enough is enough, I have a huge brain swimming anxiety attack going and need to go decompress.

Finally Friday

Yeah, the work week is over. Now time to actually work.

Hubby was off the first part of the week and decided to get something, anything, accomplished. He cleaned out the storage room which had several boxes of my fabric and 27 plastic bins of yarn for a knitting a machine I gifted to a co-worker's wife about a year ago or more. She actually uses it. I emptied the bins and took her the majority of the yarn. Okay...so shoot me, I kept a little bit for myself, but hey one bin as opposed to 27, the "Clean Sweep" guy would be proud. I will post a photo of the now empty and stacked bins tomorrow. I do still get the yearning to crochet from time to time, and I do have some regular yarn in this house somewhere...okay, in a bag in the RV, but only because I take it with me camping. It isn't all of it, just what I would work on at the time. And, it is a small bag...okay so technically it is a Duffie bag, but that is just knit picking so to speak. Yeah I know, lame pun.

Now, to go through the massive, I'm talking obnoxiously offensive massive stash of fabric for quilting. It is literally in stashed in every room of the house. Well...almost, there isn't any in my son's room or the kitchen...or the bathroom's. Every where else though, a cedar trunk in the living room, boxes and plastic bins in the garage, a hall closet with shelves over stuffed, bins in daughter's closet, boxes in my room, shelves full of fabric and books (crochet books, quilt books, stamping supplies, embroidery books) in my room, plastic flat boxes under my bed as well. Hubby is so generously (okay you did not see me roll my eyes at that) giving me a specific amount of space in the garage and storage room. He thinks maybe if I pair it down to 6 of the big gray bins. I agreed. He just doesn't know that I had already determined to purge it all down to three big bins of quilting and one bin for garment construction. My summer goal of a new wardrobe which I plan to actually start working on over Spring break. I mean really...this is just totally disgusting from even my point of view. At any rate, I also need one bin to seal up a couple of sewing machines in, or go buy a couple of carrying cases that will keep the majority of the dust out while they sit idle. Which they have been doing. It really ought to be a crime to have so much to work with except the on thing that is most needed...time.

Just check out my photo album, there is a link at the side of the page, and you will see, I do know how to do things, the quilts, machine embroidery, crazy quilting, it is all there. I just need to not work so I can work on some projects once again. But then I would be out of money to buy more things to work with. It is just an unending circle of thoughts you see. Kind of like my mind. Lord only knows what kind of mayhem I could get in if I took up scrapbooking with the way I jump in and build up supplies to store in every nook and cranny.

At any rate, I am in purging mood, have already got names lined up of people to take the stuff too. Just need to clear my time up to actually get out there and start sorting. Okay, I get it, about now would be when a planned, prepared menu plan for two weeks, plus some made ahead dinners, would be extremely valuable. I did plan out a menu plan for this past week, it worked one night. The night I made the Quick Chicken Chili Mole. It was a total disaster. I don't care how open I try to be when it comes experiencing new cultures, their food and people and traditions, I just can't enjoy the taste of chili and chocolate at the same time. The leftover Mole was trash, and I couldn't even give it to the dogs because it had chocolate in it. At any rate, the week end is coming and I will be very busy, so lucky I have a few things that quick cook so to speak.

I had much much more to say, really wanted to vent more, but I took some allergy medicine to get rid of the big blister looking whelps that were plaguing me earlier and I am dozing off mid key stroke an not making a bit of intelligent thinking for anyone to follow. Besides, I will be getting up for work soon.

By the way, if you do read this, post a comment so I know someone actually read this.
I'm out of here.

Last Minute Changes

The beauty in life comes from all the drama of last minute changes. Like the saying goes, "best laid intentions" so it seems. I finally put down in print, a sort of commitment to stay on course, and then it all changes. I had the week end menu all set, but...things happen and it all changes.

I got up this morning, made breakfast for hubby and DD12, yes I actually cooked breakfast. Got the coffee going (for hubby, can't stand the smell of coffee myself) set the oven to preheat and got the biscuits ready to bake. While they baked I fried up 1 1/2 pounds of bacon. Yes I know, that is a lot for just three of us, but I needed cooked bacon for the marinated green beans and the left over bacon is in the fridge ready for hubby to build his favorite BLT. Then I cooked the eggs and we three had a rather nice breakfast all together. I then cleaned up the kitchen, did the dishes and all (yes I know, me doing dishes?) and set about preparing the green beans to put in the fridge and marinate until supper time.

The beans are still marinating.

Somewhere after putting the beans in the fridge and before supper the schedule went totally out the door and in to oblivion. First of all, the dark dreary fog and rain caused us all to sleep in later than normal. By the time all three of us were up and about with tummy full of breakfast it was time to make a store run. I got a gift card for Christmas and was determined to find a pair of black and a pair of brown dress slacks with it. Well, poor hubby followed my directions to the store only to find out that we couldn't locate that one so off to Walmart we went for hubby to return his toy and for me to get a few things we needed. Brown hair color for one to create this wonderful reverse frost job. Did you hear my sarcasm there? Then, it was off to the WinCo Grocery which is of course only on that side of town, the opposite side of town from where we live, to pick up a couple of more chunks of the fillet Mignon that was so amazing tasting last night. Read yesterday's posting. Hubby was not feeling up to snuff and I knew it was time to take him home, so that is where we headed dropping J (DD12) off at my oldest DS and wife's apartment. DDL has boldly taken J shopping two days in a row now. I am deeply grateful for this. At any rate, after getting home, I decided to hit the store location I knew was there to use the gift card for some black and brown slacks. Man did I exceed that goal. Burlington Coat Factory is awesome. I added a little bit to the gift card and came home with 17 items. Okay, one was for J which was marked down to 4.99 and two of the tops I bought for myself are being returned tomorrow. They swallow me. WHAT AN AWESOME FEELING! I know have a full week's worth of wardrobe to wear to work that does not involve denim. I just have decided it is time to evolve a bit with my personal appearance as far as the career is concerned. I was especially delighted that the pants were all size 18W, considering that two years ago this time I was wearing size 24W. That is three sizes and I still have about 80 pounds to go to be to goal.

It took me twenty years to let myself get this way, guess I can give it a few years to go back. At least I can say that I am doing it all the right way, healthier eating and exercise. It is staying off for the most part, had a little backwards trip there, but very short and that is a direct result of my lack of gym time. That is on goal to correct itself for the new year. Have a new support system in place as well. That being J asking me to take her to the gym (she likes the rock wall) and DDL goes there regularly and even has my son going now too.

Back to the focus of this post, menu planning.

I got so caught up at the store that I lost all track of time until hubby called to check on me. Had told J she needed to be home by 5 so I could take her to get her nails done, here it was 5:10 and I wasn't even headed to check out. Oh well, she had gone to gym with DS and DDL and was running a bit late as well. After checking out I headed to the car and start running the time constraints through my head. No time to make meatloaf, but had some pork chops thawed and of course the beans only had to be heated, mac & cheese wouldn't take long, still doing okay here so called home to have them start the oven preheating. I could get the chops in the oven and they would bake while I took J to get nails done. Hubby informed me he was hungry and that we had some how missed lunch so to bring home a pizza. I gave in, picking up his pepperoni and my box of wings from the pizza place. They have the best BBQ wings. So, home I go, with the food, sweet little J runs out to the car and takes the food in then back to the car to go to the nail place. I then stopped at Subway for her on the way back home.

Now, since the planned menu was not prepared, that will be tomorrow's meal. Well with a couple of changes.
Sunday: Pork chops, marinated green beans, mac & cheese, cheese cake. Not sure if this is lunch or supper yet.

The ground beef thawed for the meatloaf will now be made in to stuffed peppers. Since I hit a big sale on bell peppers when we got the meat tonight. I will have them ready in the fridge for DS G (college doesn't start up for another week) or hubby to pop in the oven and bake on Monday for supper. I have to go back to work and am sure there is a pile of paper work waiting on me. I kind of figure that cooking up a few dishes in advance would be no different than cooking up the dishes for the meal. You know, I am making 6 dishes, just 3 for freezer and 3 for the table. If I do that several times, the freezer will be packed with dinner that just needs to be pulled out. That is why I am finishing up the menu plan for next week (probably two weeks) and bit by bit cooking it ahead. Yesterday, found some really great sounding recipes from my Yahoo groups that am going to try out. Mostly for the crock pot.

That is about it for tonight. Will post my menu plan for the week tomorrow night. Darn it, all that running around and I forgot to get milk. Oh well, guess I will be getting out early in the morning. Hmm...blueberry pancakes are sounding really good. Haven't told hubby, but am going to make my best effort to make myself go to church once again. That is a whole other story better left untold I think.

Organizing

Well, since my dear little daughter age 12 took the photos, guess I should show you our cleaning.

This is the main pantry. The photo on left is the top portion. There is actually three shelves, but my teen photographer didn't think to point up to get the whole effect. The photo on the right is the bottom section and is the three shelves shown. We have an overwhelming problem with these pesky little brown moths that come from the most destructive little maggot looking worms that I have ever seen. They eat through anything and everything. Any wrapper there is, cardboard, foil, plastic coated makes no difference. They are in the cake mixes, Ramon noodles, pastas, crackers, even pudding boxes. I keep cereal and flour in big plastic containers, but if the kids don't get them closed completely they get in. I can't even begin to count up how much money I threw in the trash because of the worm infestation. Brand new bags of chips that had not been opened had moths flying around inside. Oh, and one swat does not kill them, takes at least four or five and if they land on the floor have to stomp them about three times.

Yes, very annoying.

At any rate, I know have cleaned out the cabinets, pulled out the old shelf paper, sanitized the cabinets and put all new shelf paper down. I also bought these little moth repellent sachets with lavender in them. Since there is no exposed food, it is all in closed containers, I figured it would be fine, especially since the box states it is safe for pets. I can already tell a difference. I also made a list of just what and how much I have on hand so I know if I can make a recipe or not. My new goal for the new year is to be more organized in all aspects of my life so have been working on planning out menu plans and getting it all in to a system that I can manage and work with. I have the latest version of MasterCook on the way which will organize my recipes, pantry inventory and cost, once I take the time to type it all into the proper places. That is good for the budget which I am working on slimming down along with my own weight. MC is great for that too as it gives me a nutritional analysis of each recipe. I am also getting back to the pantry challenge. In other words, will see how long I can go with out going to the store. The goal is to use only what I have on hand, there for saving me money as I can buy the sale items easier. I also defrosted the freezer and sanitized the inside before making a list of what I had in there as well. While I was at it I cleaned out the side by side fridge and freezer, sanitizing the inside of it before tossing all expired items and bits and pieces of left overs. Hmm, maybe I should have saved those, could have used the crop of penicillin growing to fight off this cold (that all four of us have).

So, I am starting the new year with a well stocked (probably overstocked) pantry which I actually know what it contains, a very well stocked freezer (was surprised at how much I actually had) which actually has an empty shelf just waiting for some casseroles to be served at a later time, and can actually find all my pans and left over dishes.














The before and after photos of my cookware. While I was at the grocery store, New Year's Eve, standing in line for literally hours (had to hit 3 stores to get my list filled) my wonderful little daughter became a bit bored as she waited patiently for me to return so occupied herself with cleaning out and lining every drawer in the kitchen. What a job, to give you some idea, she is 12 and found the syringe I had to use to give her oral medicine when she was a toddler. Found packets of yeast that expired in 2004.

I took today off from the cleaning. As I said, am fighting a head cold and just needed a break. I spent most of the day looking over new recipes to try, figuring out a menu plan for the coming week and visiting some really amazing blogs of extremely organized homemakers. Envying them as well. I work 40 hours a week, like the majority of homemakers, and in looking at my present life can see that I am not handling life well at all. I plan to work on that. Therefore, the organizing. Trying to delegate out some task a bit as well. I leave at 7 in the morning and not back home until 5:30 making meals the hardest thing to cope with. I have already learned to let the laundry go until the week end. However, the meal issue is a major one as it is causing a problem with getting time for the gym. It is either eat and then work out on a full stomach or work out and eat the supper meal at 9. Neither is a positive aspect.

You know I have to.
so here it is. Okay, daughter's photographic skills are a bit undeveloped, and red eye correction does not seem to work on yellow eye, but hey, the effort is there. This is Kit, my new baby that was rescued from the middle of a country road that he had been dumped out on. He is still young, vet puts him at around 6 months, but he has stolen every heart around here. I just cannot imagine the coldness of a person that would allow them to throw out a puppy like that.

Tonight's meal: grilled fillet minion with baked potato, salad and homemade Hawaiian bread.

Man was it good. We got a deal on the meat and hubby is wanting to go back tomorrow and get some more. It was in a cryovac pack, uncut, and a fraction of the cost of buying that cut already trimmed and packaged. We were able to cut the steaks to the thickness we wanted and for $12 we ended up with 6 nice size steaks (comparable in size to what you would get at a restaurant) plus some pieces that were more like strips instead of steaks. That comes out a little less than $2 per steak. Weight wise, the difference was $2.97 per pound as opposed to $9.98 per pound. We have a vacuum sealer and will cut up the next one and seal in packages for the freezer. HUGE money saver.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, taking daughter to get nails done, hair cut, and am then going to give her a reverse frost. She is already blonde so am giving her brown highlights, maybe with a touch of red to match mom. Shh, don't tell her that though. Then, have to start on bathrooms and my bedroom before heading back to work on Monday. Sadly, it is times like this that make me miss being a stay home mom. It is getting harder and harder to head to work each day, emotionally that is, but thankfully I have a really good job for the most part.

Weekend Menu:
Sat:
Meatloaf, marinated green beans, mac & cheese, cheesecake (leftover from New Year's)
Sun:
CP Quick Chicken Mole (new recipe), Frito Salad, rice

I will post the menu for next week on Sunday.

Dinner was great

Had to share about the ham right quick. IT WAS AWESOME!


This was a first for me as I have never cooked a ham in a crock pot before, but will cook it this way from now on. I wrapped the meat cut side down in foil after adding some pineapple rings with cherry halves in the middle. I inserted whole cloves through the cherry and in to the meat to keep them in place. Also sprinkled a bit a brown sugar across the top and then after wrapping it up tightly in the foil I let it cook in the crock for on low for 6 1/2 hours. I have very little left over, but do have a nice bone to make beans with later in the week.

Thanks to this really cool blog site I came across called A Year of Crock Potting I also was inspired to try out cooking my black-eyed peas in the crock as well. They turned out wonderfully as well. You should really take a look at the blog, Stephannie really has it going on.

A Brand New Year

Happy New Year to anyone and everyone that reads this. I wish for you blessings of family, healthy, and finances.

I am in the middle of cooking for a big dinner tonight so will keep my posting brief. My oldest son and his new wife are coming over to start the new year off with dinner and I am so glad that they are coming over. My youngest son's girlfriend is coming too. If I can get the TV off of football (bloody unlikely) I want to watch a movie with everyone. It is nice in the living room now that it is all cleaned up and the surround sound back in place. The other one shorted out. Also, even though it is a holiday, the guy came and fixed my living room sectional today so that is all taken care of as well. Also, hubby has gotten the new wood laminate flooring all installed down the hallway. It is so nice to be rid of that old worn out grungy carpet. Now to get them to assemble the DVD shelf unit and rehang some wall decorations and that room will be in good shape.

My youngest daughter, 12, helped me clean out all my pantry and cabinets in the kitchen. Still have a few more to do, but we are taking a break. A much deserved one. At least now I know what I have on hand to work with as far as meal preparation. Now to just get the time to sit down and figure out just what to cook for the next two weeks, how much of that I can do ahead, and then get it done.

Tonight's menu:
Ham
Sweet Potatoes
Black-eyed Peas
Carrots
Pistachio Salad
Deviled Eggs
Relish Tray
Cheese Cake

My bread did not turn out, but the kids are bringing some rolls when they come. I know there should be more, and I had ideas along that line, but this is the first, and in sticking to my new resolution I am keeping the menu simple. My mother tries to fix everything with food. Lots and lots of food. For example, Christmas dinner, she had turkey, ham, green beans, salad, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, pistachio salad and fruit salad along with rolls. For dessert there were cookies, pumpkin, pecan, apple and buttermilk pies. Now mind you, there were only twelve of us eating. She tells me I need to work on my weight, tells me how good I have been doing, but then guilts me because she did all this baking and no one eats sweets anymore. The only problem with the sweets was there was just way too many.

Oh yeah, and my youngest daughter was so good at helping that I went and bought the fixings for us to make punch. A treat they all dearly love for some reason. I don't understand it, but it has always been this way. Myself, am looking forward to that strawberry daiquiri or something with Capt. Morgan.

Okay, enough, need to check out my emails, group postings and go see how things are in the kitchen. I will be posting my menus when I have it figured out.