Happy Homemaker Monday April 22

I was wandering around Facebook when I got a notification that Sandra posted her Happy Homemaker Monday meme, which I had forgotten about because, well, taxes.  So I am happy to be back! I am still working, but have today and Friday off this week. Visit Sandra's blog for more Happy Homemaker Monday posts and lots of great ideas and inspiration!

The Weather
Brrr. It has been cold for the time of year - about ten degrees colder than the average. Today it is 48 degrees with a high of about 50, but the sun is shining which is wonderful. And, there is color everywhere! Well, it is getting there. Some of the trees have seeds now, and we have Daffodils and Tulips blooming in our yard. Oh, and the Dogwood trees around here are full of pink blossoms.

Right Now
I am procrastinating menu planning and grocery buying, which are on my to do list today. Three of my kids are at school (they were off last week) and my oldest, who has today off, is with a friend, and my husband is at work. I am enjoying my first time alone in the house in about two weeks!

Thinking
About gratitude. I have a cousin that ran in the Boston marathon for the first time this year. He had finished and was about 6 blocks away when the first bomb went off. He was fine. Others are not and I am feeling tremendous sorrow for them and their families. I am also feeling pride and gratitude to the people of Boston and the surrounding area and the police and other agencies that all worked so well together on Friday. My daughter was supposed to visit a college in Boston that day. I am grateful that she wasn't there. Our neck of the woods has been put through the refiner's fire and I hope that only good will come out of the wreckage.

On a lighter note I am thinking about my husband's upcoming birthday and how we should celebrate. Most likely we will have the whole family over for a barbecue.

On My Reading Pile
I laugh. I have started so many books but never have the time or the brain capacity to finish them. In the New Testament we just finished discussing Titus.

On My TV
We are not even watching American Idol this year. I don't know what is wrong with us. Too busy, that's it.  We do watch Glee in arrears and my husband and I just started Mad Men's fifth season on Netflix. One movie we saw recently which I loved was Pitch Perfect. Some adult content but not raunchy like most college movies and truly funny and entertaining.

Blog Hopping
I currently have 958 unread posts on my Google Reader. No time yet.

On the Menu
Monday pasta with chicken sausage & marinara sauce, salad, garlic bread
Tuesday ham, macaroni and cheese, broccoli
Wednesday out
Thursday barbecued chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans
Friday turkey & black bean soup
Saturday steak, baked potatoes, broccoli
Sunday creamy chicken soup, rolls

On the To Do List
Some laundry, grocery shopping, gas buying (my van, which is slowly disintegrating, now has an unreliable gas gauge which is very unnerving), resting.

In the Craft Basket
I don't own one - but I do appreciate the beautiful creations that others make and love to see them and read about them!

Looking Forward to this Week
My new computer arriving! It is supposed to ship today. My kids have wrecked my laptop and it is starting to get errors and I gained about 10 bookkeeping accounts this tax season, so that warrants a new laptop. One with a numeric keypad. Wohoo!

Looking Around the House
I'd rather not. Actually, it is not terrible but it is in need of a vacuum. My new crock pot needs to find a home in my cabinets. The family room, living room, and dining room look good though and I did get through a lot of stuff on my desk this weekend, so I am content with the state of things.

From the Camera
My daughter playing Audry in her high school's production of Little Shop of Horrors. (She did a phenomenal job!)

On My Prayer List
My kids, dads, the victims of the Boston tragedy, my girlfriend and her family, and a family in my church that just lost a son.

Bible Verse
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."   Titus 2:11-14

Sound counsel for all of us who are trying to recover from the recent events.

Have a great week!

Weekly Menu - New Cookbook!

My menu this week is based on recipes from a cookbook that I have had awhile but have not used. I think I've made one recipe from there and I wrote in its margin:  YUMMY. So there you have it.

The cookbook is The Essential Food Storage Cookbook: Combining Food Storage with Everyday Ingredients for Delicious Food by Tami Girsberger and Carol Peterson.

Have I told you how much I love Amazon? I buy more and more things from there like purses, slow cookers, seeds, food. Anyway, I love that I can find just about anything on there.

Here is the menu plan:

Friday chicken and dumplings (page 159)
Saturday the kids are organizing a pasta dinner fundraiser at church for camp so it is pasta at church tonight
Sunday Sweet and Spicy Glazed Pork Chops (page 123), mashed potatoes, green beans
Monday Easy Italian Chicken (page 65), pasta, salad
Tuesday Crockpot French Dipped Sandwiches (page 64), baked beans, cauliflower
Wednesday fast food or leftovers
Thursday Chicken Veggie Rice Bowl (page 105)

What is so appealing about this cookbook is that it's recipes are exactly what they claim: basic dishes with standard foods paired with things we easily have in our pantries. Will share what I especially like, but may not be for awhile. Busy time of year.

Get your taxes done yet?

I haven't.

Pantry Taco Soup

As in eating right, not hurrying, although I do a lot more of the latter.  These days I am lucky if I get dinner on the table. My slow cooker has become my best friend. As a matter of fact, I bought a second, slightly smaller one. So far I have used it to cook potatoes for a side dish and it has worked great.  Here is a recipe that is quick and easy, albeit EVERY INGREDIENT IS A PROCESSED FOOD. So I think I will save this recipe for tax season. Or for the next natural disaster to come our way that causes a power outage. It is modified from Fix It and Forget It. 

Pantry Taco Soup

2 28 oz cans tomatoes (I used crushed tomatoes)

2 15 ox cans corn, undrained

4 cans beans, rinsed and drained (the recipe called for black beans, but I only had one can left so I used a can of black, garbanzo, kidney, and cannellini or white kidney beans)

1 packet taco seasoning mix

1 packet ranch dressing mix

shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips

mix first 5 ingredients in a slow cooker heat for 4 hours on low (or put it on your stove and heat through)

serve with above fixings

Four hours is too short a cooking time while I am at work, but since today was errand day, and I have to drive people around tonight during the time I should be making dinner, four hours in the slow cooker is perfect timing. If we didn't have power I could easily heat this on the side burner of my gas grill.

How to Make It Work

I have a busy life. There are two essential ingredients to managing a busy life. 

Foremost is putting God first. A friend once told me that He is the perfect secretary. Ask Him what is most important, what you should be working on right now, and He will guide you. And she is right. Staying close to the Lord is crucial to living a happy and successful life. Not only will He help you manage it all, but He will help you focus on the important things and let go of the unimportant and counterproductive things.

Second is organization. Time management, schedules, lists, and along with that, assignments. The Lord helps here too. I have received inspiration as I have tried to figure out how I am going to make my life work.

Here are some of the things I have come up with to help me through tax season, AND BEYOND!

Seminary - share the load

We were able to combine classes. The teacher of the other class (who used to be my co-teacher) is taking five classes this semester, so it was mutually beneficial to combine and share the load. Since we taught together before, we know how to work together. We meet during the Sunday school hour at church to plan the week. She teaches two days, I teach two days, and the fifth day we play games. We still attend every day, but we do not have to plan more than two lessons a week.

Groceries and meals - make it simple and use what you have

If I were really smart we would eat rice and beans every weeknight. I would buy a rice cooker and set it up next to my slow cooker and that would be it. My kids would rebel, however, so I cannot make it that simple. I have come up with this plan:

Friday - on the run. I never know who will be here on Friday night, since the boys can be camping, any of the kids can be at a friend's, sometimes, although rarely, my husband and I will go out, and sometimes we just need to fill our pizza craving. So, Fridays I will make what I want for my husband and I, which guaranteed will be some kind of soup. If the kids are home they can have some or scrounge for themselves. My freezer/pantry is full of kid friendly food:  pizza rolls, frozen pizzas, mac and cheese, popcorn chicken, raman noodle soup, etc.

Saturday - My big cooking day. Last week I made meatballs and sauce (which took 4 hours). We got another meal out of the sauce and still have some meatballs in the freezer. Tomorrow is shot due to a blizzard we are having, but future plans are post roast, roasted chicken, ham, etc.

Sunday - A fairly simple dinner, but will be making soup or salad for the week as well.

Monday - Pasta. Monday is always pasta night in our house, and my kids can cook it.

Tuesday - Something from the freezer and/or pantry, along with a fresh or frozen vegetable. I have lots of leftovers packed in Foodsaver bags (that is the point of Saturday's endeavor).

Wednesday - sandwiches or fast food (probably fast food until we are sick of it, then sandwiches)

Thursday - crock pot soup/stew/one pot meal

Using what I have also includes recipes. When planning my menu, I will be looking at my recipe file box, and what I have already posted here. The rest of the year offers plenty of time for experimenting and trying new things. Now I need to stick to the tried and true. Stuff I know I can get on the table in the time that I have and that I know people will eat.

Cleaning - share the load

Saturday is clean the house day. I clean the bathrooms and kitchen. My kids are responsible for the rest. Sometimes some of the kids won't be around, camping with the scouts comes to mind, so that week the ones that are home have to do more, and the others will make up for it the week after.

I also came up with a dishwashing schedule, based on who will be home that night.

Monday:  K&J

Tuesday: P&J

Wednesday: whoever eats home cleans up after himself

Thursday: S&G

Friday: S&C

Saturday: K&C

Sunday: G&P

Everyday there are two to help and everyone has two days. I love it when it works out like that!

Driving

This still falls on me mostly. My daughter can now drive herself, so that saves me two trips on Thursday, but also helps me to stay at work longer since some of her activities are after school.

Next year she will be able to drive everyone else, and my evenings will get much easier (other than the worrying), and she will know what it is like to be me. 

The year after that there will be less kids to drive around. In any event, it gets easier from here on.

This is what is working so far!

Happy Homemaker Monday February 8

Update
I was actually home today (Monday) because they have not plowed the street where I work yet. We had even more snow than they predicted: 36 inches in my town and 40 inches in the town where I work! We spent all weekend shoveling out. The kids are off from school for possibly the whole week. But, we did NOT lose power! So grateful for that.

Yes, I am aware that is Friday's date because it is, in fact, Friday. I am cheating because I started working and this is my day off and therefore the only free time I have. So I hope you don't mind my non-compliance, I love participating and don't want to miss out.  See Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for more Happy Homemaker Monday and other great posts too. She is truly inspiring.

The Weather

Here we go again. I would actually be thrilled with our circumstances if it were not for the threat of loss of power and that my husband will spend the weekend at work and leave us to clean possibly two feet of snow off the driveway. I am in the northeast and we will be experiencing the "blizzard of the century". The reports on how much snow we will be getting and when it will start have been so varied and conflicting and it has been really frustrating. Anyway, the snow has started and immediately started covering the roads so I am already housebound. There will be high winds later in the day which means we may lose power. I am not prepared for that this time.

Right Now

I was supposed to be taking my youngest to the orthodontist and then stopping by the warehouse club for cases of water and then the library for a couple of books to read, but since it started so fast and furious all of that has been cancelled. Instead I will fill every water container I have with water, reading the books that are already in my house (or on my kindle if we don't lose power - my kindle fire goes through battery quickly, does yours?), and have already rescheduled the orthodontist appointment. So right now I am enjoying the peace and quiet while the ones whose school was cancelled sleep upstairs.

Thinking

Worrying, actually, about my oldest, who should have been at school, but since it was cancelled, went to work at the bank instead because the snow wasn't supposed to start until after noon. I am not worried about my husband because he will most likely stay at work throughout the storm.

Reading

Still Gone With the Wind and the New Testament, but I may start Silver Linings Playbook. I have a preview on my kindle.

On My TV

Nothing has changed there either! Still have the movies from Netflix. I need to catch up on Glee.

On My Menu

Today was supposed to be my grocery shopping day. I thought about going last night (not that I had time to plan a menu) because of the storm, but then realized that if we lose power I will have that much more food to possibly spoil. I still have a couple of gallons of milk and enough food in my pantry and freezer to provide for awhile. This may be a clean out the freezer week! There is no point in planning anything until things are back to normal, since we don't know if we will have electricity or not, or when I will have a chance to go to the store after this is over.

Now that I am working, I have very little time for dinner preparation (see below), so I have to think quick and easy. The crock pot is a huge help, so are soups!

Here is what this past week's menu looked like:

Friday:  Friendly's for three of us, one was camping, one was with friends, husband was stuck at work

Saturday:  homemade meatballs and sauce, spaghetti, salad, bread 

Sunday:  Yummy pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans

Monday:  pasta with leftover meatballs and sauce, salad

Tuesday:  hot dogs in chili, wrapped in torillas, corn

Wednesday:  taco bell (I am not home at all on Wednesday nights, only long enough to pick up two of my kids)

Thursday:  beef stew, rolls

I don't want to rely too much on dining out, but Wednesdays are unavoidable.

To Do

My life, scheduled, for the next 12 weeks:

Monday-Thusday: get up at 4:15 am, shower, dress, pray, put daughter's lunch together*, make daughter's breakfast*, warm up car, throw load of laundry in washer, leave at 5:45.

5:55 - 7:45: seminary, drive kids to school, drive home

7:45-8:30:  eat breakfast, read scripture block for seminary lesson, feed dog, put clothes in dryer, pack lunch, take dog out, possible dinner prep

8:30-5:15: drive to work, work

5:15 - 6:00:  drive to school, pick up son, drive home

6:00 - 6:45: dinner, leave for piano/therapy/youth group/scouts/dance, depending on the day

7:30/8:30/9:00 - 10:00:  arrive home, prep for next day: dinner/lunches/pack, clean up, fold & put away laundry, pray, collapse in bed

Friday: same early morning schedule, then menu plan, grocery list, allergy shots, bank, gas for car, grocery buying & putting away, bookkeeping, laundry.

Saturday:  house cleaning, laundry, cooking

Sunday:  church, seminary class planning, REST

That is my life while I work. I have the UPMOST respect for women that work full time year round. The downside of working for only part of the year is that our family life does not support my working. Nothing changes once I start: all of the kids' activities continue, and my husband is no help. Not because he is lazy, but because he has a ridiculously demanding job, but that is another post altogether.

The one saving grace this year is that my daughter got her license last Friday, so she is able to drive herself to school on the days she has drama, and drive herself to piano and to dance. That saves me time and lets me work until 5-5:30 at night.

*One son makes his own lunch, the other, because he is a foster child, gets free hot lunch, and both take care of their own breakfasts. I do it for my daughter because it takes her longer to get ready.

Creating

Schedules

Homemaking Tip

To continue from my last tip:  keep on top of your bookkeeping! Every week I record my purchases (daily is even better, because you can keep even better track of your budget) and reconcile all of my accounts. With access to our accounts online, it is easy to do. This makes the task less overwhelming, keeps you on top of your spending, and will help you detect any fraudulent activity more easily and quickly. Plus you have peace of mind knowing exactly where you stand financially. Reconcile every week. I highly recommend it!

Looking Around the House

There are a few things to put away, but it is not too bad because we are staying on top of it. Being a procrastinator, I am so much more efficient when I have no time! The kids are still asleep upstairs, the dog is on the couch, even though he shouldn't be, and the snow is falling outside.

From the Camera

Getting ready to say goodbye as I pull out of the driveway?

On My Prayer List

My kids, my students, my father, my girlfriend's son.

Bible Verse

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

Matthew 6:33

Here is one of my favorite object lessons:

a jar, rice, ping pong balls (or other large objects)

jar = life

rice = things of the world

balls = things of God

If we put the worldly things in our lives first (pour in all of the rice), then the things of God do not fit (attempt to put in all of the balls, they will not all fit)

However, if we put the things of God first (put the balls in first), then the things of the world will fit around them (pour in the rice, it will fill in the spaces around the balls and all will fit in the jar).

I am so grateful for seminary. Yes, it is demanding, it is hard, it is draining, it requires a LOT, but it also gives me the opportunity to put God first in my life, in fact, in every day of the week. Because we meet early in the morning every day before going to school or work, we feel the Lord's protection, guidance, and love. And, as you can see by my schedule above, He helps it all to fit.

Have a great week!

Happy Homemaker Monday January 28

Hi and welcome to Happy Homemaker Monday! Thanks to Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom for hosting this every Monday. See her blog for more Happy Homemaker posts.

The Weather

It has been so cold here! We had mornings in the single digits, but by Wednesday we are supposed to hit 50 degrees. Yeah! Time to wash the car! Welcome to New England, where you will hear "If you don't like the weather, just wait awhile, because it will change."! We are supposed to get a wintry mix of snow, sleet, and freezing rain (fun times). School is getting out early, although my kids were getting out early anyway because it is their last day of midterm exams. But, that means no after school activities, which is wonderful because it means less driving!

Right Now

My youngest just came downstairs, ready to go to school after eating breakfast. He did not have a midterm first block (they take two a day), so he got to sleep in, but it means I have to make another trip to school today, sigh. Fortunately that will be the last trip today (see above), otherwise I would be driving two more times. Did I mention that the school is two towns over? Oh yeah, we are talking almost two gallons of gas per trip (thanks to my very fuel inefficient mini van). My oldest has to drive to college for classes today, and I will be worrying about his drive home today.

Thinking

About the choices and sacrifices we have to make in life. My husband's boss told him about a job opportunity. It would be a promotion. The increase in pay and benefits would amount to what I would probably make if I were to go to work full time. The problem is that it is in North Carolina. The company would sell our house and pay for our move. It all sounds wonderful, and the increase in income (along with the lower cost of living) would certainly help with the college expenses that are coming. But, he is turning it down (he wasn't actually offered the position, he would have had to apply for it). His boss was surprised. But, our oldest is working and attending college locally. He has a girlfriend and is in a band. He has a mental illness, so he is not ready to be on his own yet. Our daughter has one more year of high school to go, and our foster son would not be able to come with us (nor would he want to). Lastly, we both have elderly parents that live near us. And so, we will sacrifice the money and the probable job satisfaction (and warmer climate) for our family.

Reading

No changes here:  Gone With the Wind and The New Testament (still in Acts).

On My TV

At this very moment my kids, who had an early dismissal, are watching Hook. We've been watching season 3 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and still have The Artist and Elizabeth from Netflix. We've been rethinking our entertainment options, wondering if paying for the Netflix dvd's is worth the money (especially when it takes us 2 -3 weeks to watch them). We looked into video streaming options (Amazon has a wonderful video series explaining the technology requirements), but found out that our DSL service (which is free for us) has a download speed of 1.5 mbps, and the preferable speed is 5 mbps. We are so far behind! Our two tv's are 20 years old, box shaped, and have one input for cable, one for a vcr, and one output for a vcr. Yeah, that's where we are at right now!

On the Menu

This is a short week, because I start work next Monday (was supposed to start today, surprise!, but I told my boss I couldn't start yet because I wasn't ready. He doesn't understand the preparation that goes into switching from being a SAHM to working 4 days a week. ANYWAY, so today I menu planned for just the next four days, because Fridays will become my grocery day since it will be my day off.

Monday goulash, salad

Tuesday chicken tacos, cheesy rice, corn

Wednesday beef stew, rolls

Thursday pulled chicken bbq sandwiches, macaroni salad

To Do

Already got my groceries, I wanted to beat the snow, which I did, until I realized I forgot the ground beef for the goulash (because for some reason I did not write it on my list), so I had to go back out in it. ANYWAY, what is left is vacuuming, cooking dinner, maybe a load or two of sheets and blankets to wash, and that's about it. Saturday we (this kids and I) managed to clean the whole house, and that will be our routine every Saturday, so I just want to do a little touch up and that is it. It sure feels good.

Creating

Just my seminary lessons.

Homemaking Tip

It is tax time! Does that make you excited? The only thing exciting about it is if you are expecting a good refund, the rest can produce fear in the most reasonable adults. This is what I do all year to make tax time practically a breeze.  First, record your income and expenses on your computer! Is there anyone that does not do that? Believe it or not, we still have clients, with businesses no less, that use one-write sheets. All of that adding and subtracting, when the computer can do it for you? Why? Anyway, I use Quicken, have used it for years, and it works just fine. I keep track of two checking accounts, two credit cards, and numerous savings accounts with it. Second, I keep a folder labeled 2013 taxes (for this year, obviously) and throw anything in there I will need to complete my tax return AND to keep in case I get audited. It all goes in together: bank statements, credit card statements (for write offs), receipts, all back up to any checks or money I deposit during the year, check stubs (which I throw out once we get our w-2s), you get the idea. Once I get all of my tax documents, I print out an income statement of sorts, staple all like documents together, and am ready to go to work and complete my return. It takes me maybe 20 minutes to do my return, and that is because I could never remember what box to check so that I didn't get taxed on my withdrawls from my HSA account - but I remember now where that darn box is). When I am done, I print out my copy of the return, put it in the file, and that is it for that year.

Looking Around the House

I see the canned goods needed for tonight's dinner, a large package of toilet paper to be distributed between my bathrooms, and behind me a pile of teenagers glued to the tv.

From My Camera

The weather

On My Prayer List

My kids, my class, my dad, my father in-law, my friend's son.

Bible Verse

Peter healing the lame man outside of the temple:

"And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength."

Acts 3:7

I love this lesson in the New Testament, because of the symbolism of Peter actually taking the man by the hand and lifting him up when he healed him. We talked about what it means to lift others, and how we have to be higher than them in the sense of living righteously, being a good example, letting our light shine, in order to be able to lift another.

Have a great week and stay warm!

Vegetarian Bean Soup

The name of this soup, love this, is

Oh! Good! Soup!

(This is not the soup I made, but it looks a lot like it. Photo courtesy of Betty Crocker.)

and comes from the book Fix It and Forget It Lightly on page 194.  I did change it a little, and would like to change it more the next time I make it, and there will be a next time!

This is a healthy soup, and does not call for a lot of seasonings, nor does it have any meat or bouillon, so at first taste I thought it was a little bland, but after a few bites the natural flavors of the ingredients come out, and your tongue begins to appreciate the taste. Having said that, the original recipe calls for hot sauce, but next time I will replace the hot sauce with some salsa. Other than that, and the fact that I did not choose low sodium canned tomatoes, I wouldn't change a thing, unless I do, like maybe adding some thyme.

2 cups mixed, dried beans

2 1/2 quarts water

1 large onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

28 oz can diced tomatoes

red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

several drops hot sauce @ 1 C salsa

1 cup brown rice, uncooked

1 cup assorted small pasta, cooked (I did not have room for this, and don't think it is necessary, perhaps because my bean mix had some barley in it)

Soak beans 2-6 hours overnight, drain

place beans in slow cooker

cover with 2 1/2 quarts water

cover and cook on high 2 hours

add all remaining ingredients (except pasta, if you are using it)

add water to cover if needed

cook on high 4-6 hours, low 8-10

Instead of having just bread and butter with this, I made a cheese quesadilla. All of the cheese kind of counteracts the healthy aspect of the soup though.