It has been a long time since I posted a menu! I've been making a conscious effort to improve our eating habits and so far, The FisherMan seems to approve. He says he'll eat anything I cook, but all us ladies know better when our husbands say that! Every man has that limit ha ha! So here is what I've been doing this week and what I have planned for the rest of the week.
SUNDAY:
Cioppino (Italian Fish Stew)
MONDAY:
Grilled Salmon
Baked Potato
Garlic Roasted Kale
TUESDAY:
Blackbean Burgers
Glazed carrots
Salad
WEDNESDAY:
Enchiladas made with chicken, beans and spinach
Garlic Pita Chips
Salsa
THURSDAY:
Venison Steak Tips with peppers and onions
Rice and gravy
Fresh Peas
Cornbread
FRIDAY:
Blackbean and Lentil Mexican Casserole
SATURDAY:
Lentil and kale soup
LUNCHES: Homemade pizza, chicken casserole, tuna salad, homemade chicken noodle, leftovers
SNACKS: Assortment of fruits (Golden Delicious Apples, Blood Oranges, Bananas)Yogurt, Crackers and Cheese, Sweet Chili flavored Rice Chips
SWEETS: 100 Calorie brownie bites, WhoNu oreo style cookies, Fruit Gummies and I have a new recipe from Pinterest I want to try for healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies. They are made from chickpeas!
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Time For A Change
Well, it's that time of year again! New Year's resolutions and good intentions on steroids. While most are making plans to improve some area of their life and just hoping for the best, we have been busy at our house!
For quite a while now, I have struggled with keeping up with clutter. Some might think, hey, you're home all day, what's the problem? Therein lies the problem. I am home all day! Along with a 9 yr old, a 7 yr old, and a 3 yr old. Not to mention, the husband who is right next door at work and pops in and out at varying times. When you throw in books, paper, projects and all those enriching activities that fill a day...well, it tends to fill your home.
After Christmas (which was lovely, by the way), I looked around at the piles of gifts, dishes and paper and groaned. It didn't help when a couple of days later the tree toppled over. Oh, what a beautiful mess!
My children do pretty well about cleaning up as long as it hasn't turned into a chaotic mess. But when it reaches that point, they simply do not know where to start. I found my attitude turning sour way too often as I felt as though I was doing the same chores over and over. I felt overworked and under appreciated, even though I knew I wasn't. Feelings! Can't trust them, you must trust what you KNOW! So, what to do?
My children love going to the library and are very careful about keeping up with their books. I thought, "Why not apply the same principle to our home?" I've been cleaning out the hall linen closet and have converted it to the Toy Library. All toys (except for a few 'lovies' and special toys) and games are in the closet. Children must go through Mama to check out an item. When they do check it out, I have a pad that I write down their name, the date, the time, and the item. When they clean it up and return it, it is checked off. Although I am not quite finished, it has already eliminated so much chaos! When something is out, I know who left it there. The children know they are responsible for what they take out. They are enjoying the fact that there is so little to pick up at any given time. When they already had things strewn, I wouldn't allow them to take out games. Needless to say, we've been playing games this week!
I also am working on the schoolroom. It wasn't working as a playroom/schoolroom. (See above!) I have cleaned out a cabinet that used to house games and now it holds all the videos and art supplies. I plan to utilize the same approach as the Toy Library.
I've moved the children's bookshelf to the living room so they can more readily access the books at any time. All of this is really opening up the schoolroom. I am excited to have space for more visual aids and to house all of our school things in one room, instead of various shelves and cabinets throughout the house..
In the meantime, I've also done a little rearranging and decorating in the house. I hope to finish everything over the next couple of weeks and share a home tour. I can't wait to complete this project and start reaping the benefits of peace! :)
For quite a while now, I have struggled with keeping up with clutter. Some might think, hey, you're home all day, what's the problem? Therein lies the problem. I am home all day! Along with a 9 yr old, a 7 yr old, and a 3 yr old. Not to mention, the husband who is right next door at work and pops in and out at varying times. When you throw in books, paper, projects and all those enriching activities that fill a day...well, it tends to fill your home.
After Christmas (which was lovely, by the way), I looked around at the piles of gifts, dishes and paper and groaned. It didn't help when a couple of days later the tree toppled over. Oh, what a beautiful mess!
My children do pretty well about cleaning up as long as it hasn't turned into a chaotic mess. But when it reaches that point, they simply do not know where to start. I found my attitude turning sour way too often as I felt as though I was doing the same chores over and over. I felt overworked and under appreciated, even though I knew I wasn't. Feelings! Can't trust them, you must trust what you KNOW! So, what to do?
My children love going to the library and are very careful about keeping up with their books. I thought, "Why not apply the same principle to our home?" I've been cleaning out the hall linen closet and have converted it to the Toy Library. All toys (except for a few 'lovies' and special toys) and games are in the closet. Children must go through Mama to check out an item. When they do check it out, I have a pad that I write down their name, the date, the time, and the item. When they clean it up and return it, it is checked off. Although I am not quite finished, it has already eliminated so much chaos! When something is out, I know who left it there. The children know they are responsible for what they take out. They are enjoying the fact that there is so little to pick up at any given time. When they already had things strewn, I wouldn't allow them to take out games. Needless to say, we've been playing games this week!
I also am working on the schoolroom. It wasn't working as a playroom/schoolroom. (See above!) I have cleaned out a cabinet that used to house games and now it holds all the videos and art supplies. I plan to utilize the same approach as the Toy Library.
I've moved the children's bookshelf to the living room so they can more readily access the books at any time. All of this is really opening up the schoolroom. I am excited to have space for more visual aids and to house all of our school things in one room, instead of various shelves and cabinets throughout the house..
In the meantime, I've also done a little rearranging and decorating in the house. I hope to finish everything over the next couple of weeks and share a home tour. I can't wait to complete this project and start reaping the benefits of peace! :)
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Thanksgiving Catch Up
How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was very good. My oldest son was able to come home. We were afraid this might be the first Thanksgiving he wasn't with us but he was able to arrange his schedule to make it home. His band was away shooting a music video. What might have taken all week, they managed to do in one full day! He headed homeWednesday and stayed until Sunday.
My guys were able to do quite a lot of hunting over the holiday. They both love to fish and hunt. We've been very blessed that our last home and this one, there are several places for them to enjoy the outdoors. We love deer meat. It is healthy and really helps to stretch the budget. When prepared correctly you might even think it is beef!
The kids and I got a little creative with our vegetables on Thanksgiving day and created a fun centerpiece. My youngest named it Pluto. ;)
Since I had a smoked turkey and a brown sugar ham, we opted for sandwiches for lunch and ate our Thanksgiving Dinner for supper that night. I fixed dressing with gravy, cranberry sauce, fresh snap beans, sweet potato casserole, homemade macaroni and cheese, and collard greens. Dessert was pumpkin cheesecake (a paula deen recipe...it was ok), sugar free lemon pie, chocolate pie, and apple pie. All homemade!
I noticed Wednesday that the palm of the left hand at the base of my thumb was sore and tender as though I had scalded it. I thought perhaps I had and just hadn't noticed it. But by Thursday my hand and my arm all the way to the shoulder hurt to the touch. Friday when I got up I felt awful as though I had the flu. Sore and achey all over, headache, soooo tired. This went on through the weekend. Then I began breaking out on my arm. Have you guessed what it was?
Shingles!
Talk about miserable! I had no idea that you could even get them when you were younger. Not only that, I thought it was only on your beltline or on your face. Not so.
I've always heard about the pain associated with shingles. I assumed it was the rash that hurt. But the problem stems from nerve pain because the virus travels along a nerve. I am taking antivirals and pain medication. I hope this is a shortlived experience and there are no residual effects!
My guys were able to do quite a lot of hunting over the holiday. They both love to fish and hunt. We've been very blessed that our last home and this one, there are several places for them to enjoy the outdoors. We love deer meat. It is healthy and really helps to stretch the budget. When prepared correctly you might even think it is beef!
The kids and I got a little creative with our vegetables on Thanksgiving day and created a fun centerpiece. My youngest named it Pluto. ;)
Since I had a smoked turkey and a brown sugar ham, we opted for sandwiches for lunch and ate our Thanksgiving Dinner for supper that night. I fixed dressing with gravy, cranberry sauce, fresh snap beans, sweet potato casserole, homemade macaroni and cheese, and collard greens. Dessert was pumpkin cheesecake (a paula deen recipe...it was ok), sugar free lemon pie, chocolate pie, and apple pie. All homemade!
I noticed Wednesday that the palm of the left hand at the base of my thumb was sore and tender as though I had scalded it. I thought perhaps I had and just hadn't noticed it. But by Thursday my hand and my arm all the way to the shoulder hurt to the touch. Friday when I got up I felt awful as though I had the flu. Sore and achey all over, headache, soooo tired. This went on through the weekend. Then I began breaking out on my arm. Have you guessed what it was?
Shingles!
Talk about miserable! I had no idea that you could even get them when you were younger. Not only that, I thought it was only on your beltline or on your face. Not so.
I've always heard about the pain associated with shingles. I assumed it was the rash that hurt. But the problem stems from nerve pain because the virus travels along a nerve. I am taking antivirals and pain medication. I hope this is a shortlived experience and there are no residual effects!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Home Sweet Quiet Home
This week we have been enjoying a business trip that has us staying in the Atlanta area. Coming through Atlanta was absolutely crazy! The place we are staying is actually considered a suburb. You can't tell though because you never knew when you left Atlanta itself! Our hotel is very nice and that is always a plus. I had hoped we could sneak in a field trip of sorts but there really isn't anything close enough. There is a lot of shopping here though and our family enjoyed seeing the large malls and letting the kids ride the train and carousel.
Wow, what a difference from any of the places we ever called home! Even the place we used to consider the big city is really nothing more than a town in comparison.
Before we moved to our current home, we lived in a very rural area. Snakes and coyotes were a constant in life, traffic and people were not ha ha! But I loved my quiet life. It was peaceful. Peace was welcomed anyway we could get it during the stress of the last couple of years there! One of my favorite places was at the top of the hill behind our church. Each day the sunrise and the sunset engaged in a rival of beauty. The downside of living in such a rural area is, of course, that when you need ANYTHING it requires either a trip to a small grocery where prices are sky high (double to triple the normal price) or eating up time to travel to a larger town where there are more choices. There are no city sports for the children and no malls for the teenagers. The hangout there was literally the carwash.
So it was nice when we moved to a little bigger place. We have several grocery stores and a walmart along with several different types of dollar stores and drugstores. We also have a choice of restaurants. Our house is just a few miles from town and while we are in a neighborhood, it is still quieter than town. However, not having to worry over wild critters has also been good. ;) The girls can take dance now and play sports right in their own hometown. FlowerChild's soccer team even won the city championship!
Then we come to Atlanta! It has me contemplating how grateful I am to live in a smaller town. I know some people absolutely thrive on the frenzied pace of life that a big city offers. I am not one of them though! I can not imagine having to face the crush of activity and stress it requires, just to run a simple errand or have a family outing.
Although this has been a nice trip, I am looking forward to getting back to my quiet home. My little yappy dogs that drive me crazy will be excited to have their children back to play. My kitties will be happy to have a lap back to lay in. I look forward to cooking instead of eating out. I look forward to my children playing outside. Their favorite spot is under a big pecan tree they have nicknamed "Big Mama" and they call it their bakery.
Yes, we lead a simple life but I love it. I love having our little routines. I love home. :)
Wow, what a difference from any of the places we ever called home! Even the place we used to consider the big city is really nothing more than a town in comparison.
Before we moved to our current home, we lived in a very rural area. Snakes and coyotes were a constant in life, traffic and people were not ha ha! But I loved my quiet life. It was peaceful. Peace was welcomed anyway we could get it during the stress of the last couple of years there! One of my favorite places was at the top of the hill behind our church. Each day the sunrise and the sunset engaged in a rival of beauty. The downside of living in such a rural area is, of course, that when you need ANYTHING it requires either a trip to a small grocery where prices are sky high (double to triple the normal price) or eating up time to travel to a larger town where there are more choices. There are no city sports for the children and no malls for the teenagers. The hangout there was literally the carwash.
So it was nice when we moved to a little bigger place. We have several grocery stores and a walmart along with several different types of dollar stores and drugstores. We also have a choice of restaurants. Our house is just a few miles from town and while we are in a neighborhood, it is still quieter than town. However, not having to worry over wild critters has also been good. ;) The girls can take dance now and play sports right in their own hometown. FlowerChild's soccer team even won the city championship!
Then we come to Atlanta! It has me contemplating how grateful I am to live in a smaller town. I know some people absolutely thrive on the frenzied pace of life that a big city offers. I am not one of them though! I can not imagine having to face the crush of activity and stress it requires, just to run a simple errand or have a family outing.
Although this has been a nice trip, I am looking forward to getting back to my quiet home. My little yappy dogs that drive me crazy will be excited to have their children back to play. My kitties will be happy to have a lap back to lay in. I look forward to cooking instead of eating out. I look forward to my children playing outside. Their favorite spot is under a big pecan tree they have nicknamed "Big Mama" and they call it their bakery.
Yes, we lead a simple life but I love it. I love having our little routines. I love home. :)
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Christmas Shoeboxes
Are you familiar with Samaritan's Purse Ministries? Maybe you've heard of their ministry, Operation Christmas Child where you pack a shoebox with goodies of all kinds and it is sent to needy children around the world.
This year my girls wanted to do something in honor of their baby sister, Abigail, who is in heaven. I suggested they pack a shoebox. These girls have been so excited. They chose just the right wapped box from our church windows (the one with disney princess wrapping paper). They chose just the right knitted cap from the Christmas tree in our sanctuary. ( we have a member known as "the knitting lady" who makes dozens of caps and hangs them on a tree to be included in the boxes). They plotted and planned for what they might like to include.
While we did buy about a dozen items from the dollar store, we went elsewhere also in order to buy some nicer toys. The cheaper ones do not last and we wanted her to have something nice. I would rather fill one shoebox with some quality things rather than several boxes with cheap quality items that will just break.
Here is a link to the page that has several videos that show the impact of this ministry.
This year my girls wanted to do something in honor of their baby sister, Abigail, who is in heaven. I suggested they pack a shoebox. These girls have been so excited. They chose just the right wapped box from our church windows (the one with disney princess wrapping paper). They chose just the right knitted cap from the Christmas tree in our sanctuary. ( we have a member known as "the knitting lady" who makes dozens of caps and hangs them on a tree to be included in the boxes). They plotted and planned for what they might like to include.
While we did buy about a dozen items from the dollar store, we went elsewhere also in order to buy some nicer toys. The cheaper ones do not last and we wanted her to have something nice. I would rather fill one shoebox with some quality things rather than several boxes with cheap quality items that will just break.
Here is a link to the page that has several videos that show the impact of this ministry.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Artist at Work
It's been a lovely week here. The weather has been absolutely perfect, not too hot, not too cold. The leaves are changing with colors so vivid that I almost can't take it all in! I mean, have you just stopped to admire the beauty lately? The sunsets this week have been breathtaking! God's amazing artwork is at its finest in autumn, don't you think?
Yesterday afternoon the children played outside, busily piling up leaves and jumping in them, only to do it all over again. Today the weather suddenly took a turn and temperatures plummeted with freezing temperatures expected tonight. I went out and cut armloads of camellia blooms to decorate the house with. With their delicate pale blooms, I wasn't sure how well they would stand up to the freeze and I wanted an excuse to bring their beauty indoors!
Now I sit here curled up in the recliner with my cat, Tiger, trying to get warm by the fireplace. He has a hard time staying warm now that he is older (almost 16 years) and he adores the fireplace. If he doesn't have a lap to climb into (he can't jump up anymore) then he gets just as close to the fire as he can. It's so cozy to have him snuggled up with a contented purr. :)
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