If you really want to get up to speed on household organization, here is a great site for free printables of every description.
www.donnayoung.org. Click on the "Household" tab, and you'll find everything from planner pages, to shopping lists, to weekly menu pages. The weekly menu page is popular at my house. The kids actually like to see this posted on the fridge....it means they won't be eating cereal any night for supper. He he. Just joking of course - cooking decent meals is something I nearly always do - cleaning, not so much!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
So...what's for dinner?
One of the good things of slowly getting life back to normal is that I'm doing a better job of meal planning. It saves so much time, stress and $$$ to plan the week's meals ahead, and shop once!
Another benefit of having Jim working from home is that he's a good cook! A couple of days a week he is making dinner, which is a great help. Time management continues to be a struggle for me...and I'm always open to suggestions.
These are the variables: We're homeschooling 9th, 7th, and 5th grades. I also work from home writing, editing and proofreading. I will not work more than 20 hours per week at the absolute maximum on the freelance stuff, because then things really fall apart.
Of course, then, there's the daily stuff - laundry, cleaning, shopping, paying bills, appointments, and the like. And I need my 8 hours of sleep per night. Most other work-from-home moms that I know burn a lot of midnight oil, and that just won't happen for me!
Back to my point: this week's menu:
Tonight - Chicken Parmesan - Jim's dinner - one of his specialties!
Tuesday - Cheeseburgers on the grill, oven fries and baked beans (Jim again)
Wednesday - Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and corn
Thursday - Beef pot roast in the crock pot, egg noodles, broccoli and cheese sauce
Friday - homemade pizza - everyone who is around pitches in to prepare
Saturday - smorgasbord of leftovers, if there are any. If not, we'll see what the day brings!
If anyone has time management secrets - do share!
Another benefit of having Jim working from home is that he's a good cook! A couple of days a week he is making dinner, which is a great help. Time management continues to be a struggle for me...and I'm always open to suggestions.
These are the variables: We're homeschooling 9th, 7th, and 5th grades. I also work from home writing, editing and proofreading. I will not work more than 20 hours per week at the absolute maximum on the freelance stuff, because then things really fall apart.
Of course, then, there's the daily stuff - laundry, cleaning, shopping, paying bills, appointments, and the like. And I need my 8 hours of sleep per night. Most other work-from-home moms that I know burn a lot of midnight oil, and that just won't happen for me!
Back to my point: this week's menu:
Tonight - Chicken Parmesan - Jim's dinner - one of his specialties!
Tuesday - Cheeseburgers on the grill, oven fries and baked beans (Jim again)
Wednesday - Roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy and corn
Thursday - Beef pot roast in the crock pot, egg noodles, broccoli and cheese sauce
Friday - homemade pizza - everyone who is around pitches in to prepare
Saturday - smorgasbord of leftovers, if there are any. If not, we'll see what the day brings!
If anyone has time management secrets - do share!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
College Alphabet Soup
Well, this may not mean much to my Canadian and British friends and relatives - but Americans are sure to relate. We have 3 teenagers in the family, and there's been a lot of talk about college recently. Boy do the acronymns start to flow. We've got CLEPs, SATs, ACTs, and BAs, BSCs, BBAs, BEds, and who knows what else. It's all going to take a lot of CASH. No acronym there - just the unvarnished truth!
One of the cards I received recently, when my "Other Mother" passed away, reminded me of some advice I was given years ago, when I was an aspiring college student myself. I was encouraged to focus primarily on my WD. And what, do you ask, is a WD? Well here you have it: the words on the greeting card are found in Matthew 25:21
His lord said unto him, Well done good and faithful servant...enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Well Done. WD. It's THE accomplishment of a lifetime, and the only one that really matters when all is said and done.
One of the cards I received recently, when my "Other Mother" passed away, reminded me of some advice I was given years ago, when I was an aspiring college student myself. I was encouraged to focus primarily on my WD. And what, do you ask, is a WD? Well here you have it: the words on the greeting card are found in Matthew 25:21
His lord said unto him, Well done good and faithful servant...enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Well Done. WD. It's THE accomplishment of a lifetime, and the only one that really matters when all is said and done.
Monday, April 21, 2008
we went walking...what did we see?
I decided to take the camera along on our lunchtime walk today. Fortunately we have lots of interesting places to walk, right from our back door. No looping the block for us! Here are a few of the things we saw today:
a coal vein, the Kiskiminetas River, train tracks and dozens of tractors zipping by!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
A Beautiful Breath of Spring
Take a tour through Life: Beautiful Magazine's website for a fresh and lovely taste of spring. Here's my suggested road map.
First, take a minute or two to appreciate all the beautiful details in that sun porch photo. I'm loving the red bench! Then check out the scrolling photos along the bottom of the page...every yummy detail!
Then I'd suggest a click on "current issue" for a preview of all the goodies in the Spring 2008 magazine.
After that, check out the "About" and "Editor" links, for an inspiring story of faith and perseverance. Then cruise into the "Contributors" Link - I'm sure you'll recognize some of the names there!
Then, I hope you'll consider the "Subscribe" link. Personally I would love to see this magazine flourish. I have the first three issues, and let me assure you they are top quality - stunningly beautiful in every way - and that's coming from a certified, card-carrying magazine junkie!
First, take a minute or two to appreciate all the beautiful details in that sun porch photo. I'm loving the red bench! Then check out the scrolling photos along the bottom of the page...every yummy detail!
Then I'd suggest a click on "current issue" for a preview of all the goodies in the Spring 2008 magazine.
After that, check out the "About" and "Editor" links, for an inspiring story of faith and perseverance. Then cruise into the "Contributors" Link - I'm sure you'll recognize some of the names there!
Then, I hope you'll consider the "Subscribe" link. Personally I would love to see this magazine flourish. I have the first three issues, and let me assure you they are top quality - stunningly beautiful in every way - and that's coming from a certified, card-carrying magazine junkie!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
IKEA love
Recently the man of the house and I took a little reconnaissance mission to our "local" IKEA. I use "local" loosely, since it is in fact about an hour away. Can I just tell you that I love IKEA. I could honestly spend an entire day wandering about the store looking at how things are put together. It's all designed for a very efficient use of space, and everything is oh-so-organized, in an upbeat, inspiring sort of way.
We were looking for, and bought, a loft bed for our youngest. I'm thinking we'll be buying a couple more for the other kids. They seem to have hobbies that generate a lot of stuff...but more on that another time.
While there, I was checking out this laptop table. I'd never seen such a thing. It was quite impressive. Usually my laptop sits on my lap. Imagine that. But this was all very ergonomic. The top tilts to whatever angle you choose, and the height of the whole thing can be adjusted too. It was pretty sweet!
Now what I'm going to do (I'm not kidding) is TAKE my laptop to IKEA next time we go, and set it on the table beside a couch, and see if it all feels as good as it looks. My husband will be several aisles over, by the way, pretending he doesn't know me! After 20 years of marriage I know what to expect!
We were looking for, and bought, a loft bed for our youngest. I'm thinking we'll be buying a couple more for the other kids. They seem to have hobbies that generate a lot of stuff...but more on that another time.
While there, I was checking out this laptop table. I'd never seen such a thing. It was quite impressive. Usually my laptop sits on my lap. Imagine that. But this was all very ergonomic. The top tilts to whatever angle you choose, and the height of the whole thing can be adjusted too. It was pretty sweet!
Now what I'm going to do (I'm not kidding) is TAKE my laptop to IKEA next time we go, and set it on the table beside a couch, and see if it all feels as good as it looks. My husband will be several aisles over, by the way, pretending he doesn't know me! After 20 years of marriage I know what to expect!
Friday, April 4, 2008
One of my favorite writers...
...is Jill Carattini, senior associate writer at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. I receive a daily email from RZIM titled A Slice of Infinity. They are all good, but I can count on Jill's to be outstanding. Not only is her content consistently poweful and thought provoking, but her writing itself is beautiful. There's not a wasted word; it is flowing, compelling reading, start to finish. Her titles are always catchy without being tacky. If you want to see truly good writing, consider subscribing on this page.
Today's piece "Reading Between the Lines" addresses biographies - why they are popular, and why they have value - and then goes on to consider the characters of faith in Hebrews. Masterfully done!
Today's "happy" - my husband just got home after spending almost a week at a convention in Florida. He brings so much calmness and balance to our home! The other "happy" is that starting Monday he will be working from home four days a week instead of two...a great savings on gas, plus we get to have tea breaks and lunch time walks together!
Today's piece "Reading Between the Lines" addresses biographies - why they are popular, and why they have value - and then goes on to consider the characters of faith in Hebrews. Masterfully done!
Today's "happy" - my husband just got home after spending almost a week at a convention in Florida. He brings so much calmness and balance to our home! The other "happy" is that starting Monday he will be working from home four days a week instead of two...a great savings on gas, plus we get to have tea breaks and lunch time walks together!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Not just any candle...
...but a handmade 1/2 pint soy candle...and it can be yours FREE. To enter this contest, go HERE. I received one of these candles at Christmas and loved it! Soy is a natural, clean burning alternative to paraffin candles. Take time to look around Lisa's website for a real education in healthy simple living.
*edited to add, it appears you need a wordpress account to log in to enter the contest.
Life has been busy. I once read a quote that said "Happiness walks on busy feet" or something like that. I should be esctactic about now!
Here are 3 simple things that made me happy today. I could hear the birds chirping early this morning. After the longest, bleakest of winters this was music to my soul. I could hear the spring peepers in the woods and stream behind our house...noisy, but lovely to hear! And, I noticed that the strawberry plants from my sister in law that I planted last summer have returned to life. What's not to love about spring?
*edited to add, it appears you need a wordpress account to log in to enter the contest.
Life has been busy. I once read a quote that said "Happiness walks on busy feet" or something like that. I should be esctactic about now!
Here are 3 simple things that made me happy today. I could hear the birds chirping early this morning. After the longest, bleakest of winters this was music to my soul. I could hear the spring peepers in the woods and stream behind our house...noisy, but lovely to hear! And, I noticed that the strawberry plants from my sister in law that I planted last summer have returned to life. What's not to love about spring?
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