Homestead's Delicious V1

I was sorting through my delicious account the other day and thought I'd share.

Lion Brand Yarn. Discovered via Martha Stewart Living. They have some cutie pie patterns for knitters. Even though my knitting abilities are limited to crooked doll blankets I have high hopes for someday becoming a true knitter. Just look at the adorable toys. And a bikini? Yes, this is what I want to become.....

Shabby Princess. I found this looking for a recipe card template to print my fabulous shrimp dip recipe for a friend for Christmas. I am not a digital scrapbooker but I have great aspirations to become one someday. ('Cause lord knows I don't have the patience for the process of regular scrapbooking... or for the storage of materials or those big-ass albums.) I even got photoshop elements for Christmas. Add this to my list of "things to become."

Kindergarten Blog. I found this while searching for some clip art for the infamous morning schedule we created. It is quite a nice little blog and has great clip art.

Do2learn. Also found this while searching for clip art. But bookmarked it because several of the things on this website apply directly to my job. Nice find.

Pancakes & French Fries. You know I'm a sucker for anyone combining kids and design and paint. What's not to love?

300. But not the Movie.

I've been toying with the idea of creating several 300 calorie "meals" and then just rotating 5-6 of them into my day every day.

Um, Homestead....

Yes?

Six times 300 is 1800 calories.

Yes.

Isn't that, well, a LOT for someone trying to drop a few pounds?

Yes. But, dear reader, you must remember I am an acception to every rule. I'm powering a small human with my chesticles.... I NEED those calories.

I'm a creature of habit. I can eat the same couple of things every week and be perfectly happy. So, in my ever-planning-never-doing mind I was lining out the things I eat most often:

1. Mountain High low-fat vanilla yogurt, fiber one cereal, chocolate sauce.
2. Tortilla, refried beans, cheddar, peppers, cherry tomatoes.
3. Veggie & cheese omelet.
4. Fried egg sandwich.
5. Toast with cheese.
6. Chai tea.
7. Coffee with 2% milk.
8. Apple with caramel sauce.
9. Spaghetti.
10. Caesar salad.
11. Chicken tender salad with cheddar and ranch.
12. Pita with olive oil and cheese melted on top. (Pizza!)
13. Tacos.
14. Wheat thins.
15. Avocado and cheese grilled sandwich.

So imagine my suprise when Prevention came out with a whole diet book about it!! Here's a preview of some of the menu ideas they suggest. I shoulda got on this... I coulda made a million.

Me. Defined.

An excerpt of an email I sent to Elle. She's getting serious about being an organizational blogger. I can't wait.

Who do I love? Crap. I have no idea…. It will come to me. I like flylady.net for some of her stuff. The idea of just jumping in and getting after it. I like ikea. I like the container store. I can’t think of the organizing one I love the most….. I like the idea of simplicity. I think the blog should be about that…. I know… it’s a very trendy topic right now. But here’s the thing…. It is so appropriate. I like David Allen and Getting Things Done. I like Mark Forester. I like Hoarders. I like The Gilbert Center and his ideas on time and technology management. I like steam cleaners and streamlining. I like nesting. I like paint colors and the idea of little alters and stolen moments. I like lists. I like books. I like books about lists. I like taking little everyday moments and treasuring them and treating them like something important. I like celebrating the everyday. I like Martha. I like cupcakes. Your blog should be like a really good cupcake. Celebrated little tidbits of decadence. Little things really worth celebrating in the everyday. Totally relished and not wolfed down while in transit to that some-other that will never be achieved. Living in the moment. I like dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds. I like the idea of one really good piece of dark chocolate over a bag of crappy stuff. One really good cup of coffee over a pot of instant. One really good vase of flowers over a whole shelf of knick knacks. I like design. I like the shape of things and how they play off each other. I like trying to mix modern and simple with farmhouse/woodsy and homey.

No Grey In Either Muzzle.....

Subtitled: He is still wearing that shirt. When the pickup was new (to us). The dog still has that collar.

Sometimes I forget to tell him

Dear Husband-

You were right. About several things. This week.

1. Putting my car key on a different ring on my keyring clip was a very good idea. I can now leave the car running while I run back into the house for something I forgot and lock the back door at work while warming the car. You smart guy.

2. The driveway is very slick. (PS. Thanks for sanding so I didn't wipe out.)

3. Calling that other internet guy was a good move. I totally thought their plans would be too expensive but they were quite reasonable.

I love you.

We Were Young & Beautiful

The Pink Tub

Oh holy shit.

Remember when I said I was afraid I might be a hoarder.

Check out the episode of "Linda and Todd" on Hoarders this week.

See that pink tub on top of Linda's piles??

I HAVE THAT PINK TUB.

It is one of those hospital tubs. In our house it is the "soaka foot" and "frow-up" tub. It lives on the top shelf of the laundry room cupboard... but during the last 6 weeks it has been out and about next to various beds in that game of throw-up roulette. I actually just put it away (again) this weekend.

The Morning Routine

Kae is talking about how long it takes to get going in the morning.

Since this is my first week working in the office 5 days I think it is a good time to review my own schedule and see if it needs adjusting.

6:00: alarm. My alarm is the sound setting... usually the rain storm one. Although this morning it was static... loud static... because some small person messed with it this weekend. Ahem.

Nurse the baby and get up by 6:30 at the latest.

Bugsy comes downstairs and sits in the bouncy seat while I shower and get ready. I have until just before 7:00 to do the following: shower, comb my hair, moisturize, put on my face (let's be real.... tinted moisturizer, eyeliner, curl/mascara, eyebrows... in my old age I've added mascara and eyebrows.... it used to be moisturizer, eyeliner & blush), brush my teeth (does anyone else have days when they think, "I don't have time for TWO WHOLE MINUTES with the electric toothbrush"????), dork around.....

Other things that need to be done that may get done before 7:00: make coffee, change and dress the baby, pack my lunch, get out daycare bag and put milk in it, make Sweet's lunch.

Hot usually makes Sweet's lunch. Bologna and cheese on wheat, granola bar, pretzels, carrot sticks, apple slices and a peanutbutter cup is the usual.

A few minutes before 7:00 Bugsy and I go up and snuggle Sweet and wake him up and decide what he wants for breakfast. He then grabs his clothes and comes down in front of the stove to dress. Tuff also gets up and does the same around this time.

Hot's alarm goes off at 7:00.

I turn on the Today Show at 7:00 for a few minutes of news while I dress and top off Bugsy.

Then I turn the tv off. This seems to be the key to getting it together in the morning.

Sweet eats breakfast and brushes and follows his schedule (on the fridge) while Tuff dorks around getting dressed. She eats breakfast at daycare.... a lifesaver since getting her to eat breakfast quickly usually ends in one of us crying.

Then I fix Tuff's hair and she brushes her teeth.

Hot starts my car and brings it to the front door for me.

Then comes coats and hats and baby's in bucket seats.

In theory I should be able to leave by 7:30 but it never works that way. It is usually 7:45. Sometimes it is 8. Hot leaves at 8 with all the kids and drops Sweet at school and the girls at daycare on his way to work.

I feel inspired... not to paint... but to TALK about paint

Check out comments here. Now don't you think Christal should post paint brands/names so we call all chime in?

Seriously. You know about me and paint.

Elle can just say, "I'm painting." and get after it. I hem and haw and even after I pick a color and buy the paint I can't get if finished.

See my almost done dining room walls for proof.

You'll notice I did NOT put "finish painting" on my list of resolutions.


Last time Elle was here (lordy, was that.... um...... the summer of 2005?) she motivated me to paint the most offensive room in our house.... the peach bathroom. Do you KNOW what peach does to you when you are trying to put on makeup? Ugh. I looked like I had jaundice every time I tried to powder my nose.

So I had been thinking blue.... something very Pottery Barn with dark blue and crisp white. We ended up, somehow, with purple. I loved it for a while but now it is looking worn and I need a change. I'm planning to go with a neutral and then be able to change it up easily with some small accents.... like right now I have an orange thing of pump soap on the counter. It smells great and was on clearance. I'd like to get one orange or brown hand towel and a pumpkin spice candle and call the my "fall look" for now.

That summer we also painted my dryer. What? You've never painted a major appliance? No problem. You pick up a $6 can of appliance spray paint, put on a Thomas the Train dvd for the kids, drag the dryer onto the lawn and ta-da. My almond dryer matches my white washer. The best part? The reason I GOT the dryer in the first place was my auntie got a new white washer and couldn't stand them not matching so she was ditching her almost-new dryer.... seriously.... I hauled it out of the lean-to behind the shop at the farm. I've also turned harvest gold oven hoods to neutral. Amazing stuff... that appliance paint.

Next up was the laundry room. I've had a love affair with this particular shade of blue for a long time. Benjamin Moore's Palladian Blue. But I've never had a place for it.... so I painted the laundry room. And one wall black chalkboard. Very trendy. I still need to do the ceiling with some classic ceiling white. (Decorator's white with a touch of black in it.... or so I'm told.) I have the paint but not the motivation.

Then we did a slight remodel.... chopping our odd-shaped living room in half to make another bedroom. It required me to prime and paint. So it got a lovely shade of green..... peaceful jade.... inside and out. The plan is to redo the living room (currently a shade of antique white) to a neutral and also paint the ceiling with that classic ceiling white.

My new neutral. Ladyfinger. Let me say.... I don't like it on the sample card. At all. But one of the offices at work is painted it and I LOVE it. So I tried it. I like it a lot. Eventually the rest of the living room and the connecting wall to the dining and kitchen will all be painted. Eventually. I might also use it in the bathroom.... in a glossier form.

Moving on.... the kitchen. Some small parts are ladyfinger and I did the two tiny walls green called, um, I think it is Sag Harbor Grey. NO, wait.... Nantucket Grey.  Yes, Nantucket.  I like it but am slightly disappointed it is so close to the green I used in the living room/downstairs bedroom. I also did one wall of the dining room.... the one I still haven't finished. Ahem. Add this to the top 5 list of things I do that drive Hot nuts. (Also include: burning candles, leaving the garage door up, starting multiple projects and not finishing any of them and nagging him to clean up his piles when my piles are still out.) Again... ceilings need paint.

Moving on to the upstairs.... with the strange wall papery stuff. I'd like to do our bedroom Smoke and some sort of blue in the kids' room. Someday. And a crisp glossy white for the closets and shelves. Very trendy. But easy to change.... each room only has two small walls that can be painted.

And that's it. My WHOLE house.

I like to go here for inspiration. She paints often and has a good eye.

Gloss or Not

Glossy or Lustre Photos?

High Gloss, Semi-Gloss, Satin or Flat paint?

Lip Gloss or Chapstick?

Whole, 2%, 1% or Skim Milk?

Holidays 2009

I'm reflecting today.

It was a good holiday.

The kids loved every minute and got lots of goodies. As a matter of fact I still have one tub of stuff to find a home for lurking in the baby's room. I better get on that.

The big surprise hit of the holidays was an underwear shirt. Duofold. Dark Blue. For Sweet. He loves it.

Tuff loves her play kitchen. I quickly got over my misgivings about the SIZE of it when I saw her playing with it..... although sometimes she likes to play bartender with it and use the back of the couch as a bar.... that concerns me a little. Hearing a baritone bark of, "Hey, you want a beey-a?" from a 3-year-old is just strange.


Bugsy completely enjoyed the wrapping paper and boxes. Her favorite gift is the little stuffed camel my boss brought her from Egypt. His toes are just the right size and shape for snacking. I got her a baby book.... guess I'll have to write in it now.

Hot liked his gift cards. That's his favorite gift. Gift cards to his favorite local sporting goods store. He's on a mission to buy a pair of very expensive binoculars (different from the very expensive binoculars he bought a few years ago) so this will help him reach that goal.

I got lots of good stuff.... too much. I'm completely enjoying the coffee gift cards and I love the clothes I got. Also my sister rocked me a good gift as always.

I do have one question.... what is UP with all the calendars? At home AND at work. We got 4 wall calendars and I got a pocket calendar. And I have a pile of calendars at work.... why?? Do I look that disorganized? Does the fact that I don't have a calendar on every wall a problem for you people? Is that why you give them to me?

Elle is posting resolutions.

Game on.

I haven't taken time to really think it out yet this year (I'm more of a Lenten resolver myself) but here goes.

I'm following her format here.

A. Healthy Diet. We are eating our way through the Christmas gift candy. In the great kitchen overhaul project I tossed several giant bags of, um, is it Halloween candy?? I don't know and it doesn't matter because it is gone now. I'm focusing on eating a little healthier every month without denying myself. I gave up freakin' sugar for 6 weeks in 2009 (not shedding a single pound I might remind you) and if I can do that, well, just call me Wonder Woman. So my healthy diet goal is: Eat until you are full, not until you are tired.

B. Getting rid of the stock up stuff. I figure if I moved it into this house from the old house it is now 5 years old... toss it. That's my current standard. Also ditching interesting items dumped on me by various family members.... (Mom, don't think I didn't notice the stuff you slipped in my take-home box last week....) And I purged a giant box of kitchen stuff... who knew my tiny kitchen could even HOLD a giant box of kitchen stuff? How many sippy cups do you really need anyway?

C. Purge negativity. Uh-huh. Actually, I'm feeling pretty negativity free in people in my life. I should count that as a blessing.

D. Seeing a doctor? I just saw my doctor... he was at Costco shopping with his son. Although I do promise to consider getting a colonoscopy sooner rather than later based on family history.

E. Knitting. I wish I was better at knitting. I also wish I knew how to digital scrapbook. Maybe that will be my next goal.... learning to digital scrapbook.

F. I will see my family several times this year. And I will go to a 100 year celebration for the town I graduated high school.

G. Grow my garden? How about I resolve to pull the grass in my flower beds. And I resolve to brush my dog's teeth because he is old and deserves some extra love.

H. Money. I make money resolutions weekly, don't I? I resolve to determine, once and for all, if we can afford to remodel and add on. And I resolve to put double money in the kid college funds this year. And continue our goal to have the house paid off in 8 years. And continue putting $75 per month into a special secret account to be spent on the unglamorous items in life... like a new dishwasher and new carpet. And I refuse to freak out about the new higher price of daycare.

I. Finding a position that lights my fire? My goal for 2010 is to just maintain. I just want to maintain this level of serenity and organization. I'll look for fire next year. Next week I start back with 5 days a week in the office. Total dread. Complete and total dread.

J. I will love my childen even if two-thirds of them sleep in my bed every night.

K. I will baby proof the house for Bugsy. And I will not put those goofy baby girl headbands on her head.

L. I will play loud music and dance with Tuff. Oh, and I will teach her to do a headstand.

M. I will play legos with Sweet. And I will honor his wish to only wear Wrangler jeans.

N. I will try not to nag Hot. And I will support his attempts to drop weight.... even if it means I don't get to eat pasta for the next 365 days which might kill me.

O. I will continue to add little bits of working out into my days.

N. I plan to do one fun family thing every month. January: rodeo on the 17th and dinner somewhere fun after. February: Um, I'm already out of ideas.

The Plague: Round, um, Four??

Holy Fug-a-Duck. My husband called in sick again today..... I'll spare you all the details but he was sick for 10 days over Christmas and now again?!?!?! This is his third round of it. I had one round but, knock on wood, I haven't thrown up....

It's the freakin' plague.

Actually.... I think it is a rotavirus (sp?).

And the reason Bugsy hasn't gotten it? Babies get vaccinated for these sorts of things.

Hot's response? "Well why the fuck did we get lathered up over flu vaccine? Why didn't we get a rotavirus vaccine??"

I paraphrase.

The Sickness

I wish I had documented this plague that has attacked our house.

Let's see.... I got sick..... a general kind of throat thing.... in September. But it held on for SIX WEEKS in various forms. I rallied (everything except my voice) for the wedding in October and then relapsed.

And both kids got a feverish flu thing around then..... Sweet hallucinating.... in the middle of the night... mad at me because I won't let him go outside and play transformers. And Tuff puked.

Then this other stomach thing started in, um, early December? I don't know. I know Sweet had it. I know Tuff had it. I know I had it for 5 days. Hot got a mild version of it. Bugsy held strong. Then last week Sweet got sick again... the throw up in the night version. The one that almost makes you think food poisoning. Then Sunday night Tuff got it. She was retching every 30 minutes or so and couldn't hold down a sip of water... but she really wanted a drink.

My basic puking theory is.... nothing for 20 or so minutes after you yak. Then a sip of water or some ice chips. If you can go an hour and your tummy feels settled you can have water and maybe a cracker. But I believe (is there any scientific evidence?) putting things in an upset tummy can make it react violently and create a bad cycle.

So this morning I wake up alone.... which isn't totally unusual.... Hot tends towards insomnia. I wander to the bathroom and see the garbage can upside down, rinsed, in the sink. And I wander to the kitchen and see one of the two big white bowls on the counter.... this means either someone made popcorn or someone is losing their cookies. I don't smell popcorn.

Hot is in a bad way. (Can I also add... unfortunately he went out for a guys night last night and had prime rib and beer..... really awful on replay.... also pricey puke.)

You know what this means, right? Who is going to get it in two days? Me.

Hoarding

Do you watch Hoarders???

You can actually watch episodes online.

Yikes.

Here's the thing.

We've been having sickness in our house the last few weeks. The puking and "my bottom threw up" kind.

And it has me thinking about messiness.

1. Several years ago Sweet was mad one night when I made him put his transformer tub away. It was sitting on the floor by his bed. In the night he threw up right where the tub had been. He still refers to it... "remember that time I threw up right where my toys had been" and how we have to pick up things so that doesn't happen.

2. I'm just now getting all the carpets and bed skirts and bedding cleaned up from the latest round of yakking. (Tuff managed to mess up THREE beds in one night. Sweet missed the bucket and nailed the carpet. And Bugsy had a separate spit up incident that required removing the slipcover from the couch and, oh what the hell, while we are doing that lets take all the coverings off the couch cushions and wash them all.... the couch looks great but it took 2 days to get it all apart and back together again. Oh and side note: The cat likes to "nurse" the tan fuzzy blanket on the couch so I'm washing it several times a week...ew.) And I have had the washer going pretty steady.... now image that scenario in a hoarder home. Ew. (And then be thankful for not living 100 years ago... when I would be down at the creek banging the bedding on a rock to clean it....)

3. Also.... I'm so thankful for my frontloading washer and the foresight to buy more laundry detergent at Costco last week.

4. And (much as I complain about how cluttered it is) thank goodness our house is clean and picked up so no one tripped on a toy in the dark and crashed down the stairs or broke a toe rushing to get a kid over the sink or to a bucket.

5. Can you imagine what our bathroom would look (and smell) like if we weren't cleaning the toilets multiple times per week right now? Nothing says "I love you" like a clean bowl and someone to hold your hair. I've actually been using Dr. Bronner's peppermint to clean it.... a nice minty bowl and safe for the dog to drink from..... But I can sympathize with some of those compulsive hoarder homes..... it doesn't take long for a toilet to get really nasty with illness, right?

6. I think I have some hoarding tendencies. Seriously. Sometimes things can sit in a pile for so long I just start seeing them as part of the landscape. Or I clean every room and just pile it all in the laundry room.

7. I love how our beds look when they are all clean and fluffed. So things are looking really great in spite of the illness. And no one has thrown up on any Christmas presents. Who-hoo.

Sledding with Alvin, Simon & Theodore.

Sledding with Alvin, Simon & Theodore. As you can see in the last photo.... Theodore is pissed and wants to go in for hot chocolate and marshmallows....

Christmas by the Week WEEK 12

Week #12 - Dec 21-27 "Celebrate!"

Enjoy the Holidays with Family and Friends! Take time to drive the neighborhoods to enjoy holiday lighting displays. Enjoy family traditions and special meals.

Because all I can talk about is snow....

Geez-o-Pete.... it's back down to what we are just referring to as "butt-ass" cold here.

And it snowed. A lot. And I know I should complain about the cold and the snow and streaking out to the shop in my slippers to get more butter from the freezer but, damn, it is so beautiful.

And this weekend I will curse the plow and the fireball (fuel poured directly in the carburetor) in the garage and the exhaust fumes... but for right now.... gorgeous.

The kids think they are dying because I told them it had to be 15 above to take Bugsy sledding. They think she is a wimp. With her rice bag heater and double snowsuits and vaseline on the cheeks..... well.... she kinda is a wimp. She sits so solomn in her little sled and waits.... then giggles like a tiny demented maniac when we start racing around.... it is a fun workout.

Hot had an, um, experience yesterday morning. On the way to town this car was following him really close. Now, um, it is very icy and all the laws of physics still apply.... even if you have 4-wheel drive. This particular driver (who shall remain nameless...) has been observed driving rather, ahem, rapidly on our road before. Hot starts down the hill.... this car starts to PASS him. Seriously. Curvy hill. Fairly steep. Very icy. No visibility. Double yellow line. Lots of knocked over fence posts on either side from cars hitting them. Dead carion deer at the bottom of the hill and a pack of white-tails on the side of the road just to make it more interesting. And the fate of this driver? The ditch.

It would be wrong for me to laugh right now.

Because Karma is a bitch.

Christmas by the Week WEEK 11

Week #11 - "Final Shopping/Wrapping Week" Dec 14-20

Complete last minute details and enjoy holiday parties, concerts, and family activities.

Things I know about Cold

It is a balmy 15 degrees out now. Practically tropical.

I wish I had a block heater in the van.

The school kids do outside recess down to zero degrees. The parents just get a vaguely ominous "dress your children appropriately" message.

Sweet has managed to lose and find his hat about 14 times..... he's worse than his father.

The cats can't figure out the cat door into the shop.

Bugsy is cute in her fleecy snowsuit.

I calculate the actual temperature by triangulating the average on three separate thermometers.... this is a sure sign I am a farmer at heart.

Tuff has her coat unzipped.... that girl does her nordic ancestors proud.

I pink puffy heart Land's End winter gear. My mom found a clearance coat for Tuff last spring and I dropped $45 for a clearance coat for Sweet this fall. Totally worth it. We also got some really nice "squall" gloves for Sweet and fleecy mittens for Tuff and fleece hats for both.... all from clearance of course..... Sweet is wearing some really nice sorel snowboots that I raised my eyebrows over when Hot came home with them.... I don't wanna know the price.... but they are super nice. Tuff is wearing some several sizes too big boots but she loves them because they are warm and purple. Bugsy is wearing the same fleecy snowsuits the other two wore.... and using the rice-bag heater to stay toasty in the sled.

Vaseline on the cheeks is brilliant for insulation.

Hot chocolate is really a good thing..... so is the bottle of Irish Creme from Costco.