Menu Planning Monday - January 24th

Yes, yes... it's Tuesday - so shoot me.
And I haven't been posting....
and, and, and... oh well. Life has been getting in the way a lot lately.

So here's the menu. I promise, next weeks will be up on time, and much more interesting. There is 2 "small" holidays to celebrate!

Monday - Tacos
Tuesday - Baked Teriyaki Chicken with Rice and broccoli
Wednesday - Pasta night
Thursday - Breakfast for dinner
Friday - leftovers

And make sure to head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu planning ideas!

{this moment}

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.






Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!
For more moments, hope over to Soulemama.

{this moment}

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.




Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!
For more moments, hope over to Soulemama.

{this moment}

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.




Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!
For more moments, hope over to Soulemama.

Menu Planning Monday - December 6th

Happy St. Nicholas Day!! (ok, i admit, we didnt do anything for it this year)

So here I am, again, finally. As I am sure for everyone, life is so busy and hectic right now! Our van died 2 weeks ago, so we haven't had a regular menu since, hence, me not posting one. But as we get into the "no car" routine here for the next few weeks, I'm finding that having a set menu, even if I have to shop more often, is even more crucial!


Monday: Asian Orange Chicken over brown rice
Tuesday: Grilled cheese and soup
Wednesday: One Dish Vegetarian Dinner
Thursday: Breakfast for dinner
Friday: Baked Teriyaki Chicken with rice and green beans
Saturday: Pizza night
Sunday: clueless - will update during the week!

Giveaway: One Hook Wonder

A wonderful blog I love to read, One Hook Wonder, is having a wonderful giveaway for a spiral Advent ring, made by the blogger's own husband! Here is a photo from her blog, showing you the spiral Advent ring.

Would you like to win one?

If so, hop over to One Hook Wonder for your chance to win this lovely ring. Giveaway ends this Tuesday!

{this moment}

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.




Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!
For more moments, hope over to Soulemama.

My 2010 Christmas Baking List!

I know I haven't been around much - I'm still pretty much recovering from Thanksgiving, and having my in-laws here for 2 days as well as my sister-in-law and her family here for the day... I'm still wiped from it! WHEW! But I think a good time was had by all...

This is a very optimistic list - and this is the order I'll make them in (stuff that i don't mind not having done, is last). I haven't included that I'll be making a batch of crinkles for a friends fundraiser, as well as cookies (what ones?!?!) for my church's annual cookie sale. These I'll be baking first, tomorrow and this weekend.

• Toll House Cookies
• Chocolate Crinkles
  
• Peanut Butter Blossoms
• Magic Cookie Bars
• Sugar cookie Cut outs
• Double Chocolate Peppermint Chip Cookies
• Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Bites
• Jello Coated Popcorn
• Double Decker Fudge
• Peanut Butter Fudge
• Chocolate Fudge

I do have some small changes to a few of these recipes (no nuts in the cookies), but mostly, these are the tried and true cookies i grew up helping my dad baking at Christmas time. So....

LET THE BAKING BEGIN!!!

{this moment}

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.




Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!
For more moments, hope over to Soulemama.

Menu Planning Monday - November 15th

Here we are - quickly approaching the Holiday season. So many things going on right now - I am grateful that menu planning removes that "what's for dinner" anxiety! We have something EVERY night this week going on - WHEW!

Monday: Baked Potato with choice of toppings and Broccoli

Tuesday: Breakfast for Dinner

Wednesday: Spaghetti

Thursday: Wraps and leftovers

Friday: Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Shells

Saturday: Pizza night

Sunday: TBD

Make sure you swing over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu planning ideas!

{this moment}

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.




Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!
For more moments, hope over to Soulemama.

Menu Planning Monday - November 8th

Here we are, another week. Working on healthier meals... the lack of a menu last week meant we ordered out, three times! YIKES! So, here's this weeks attempt at healthier meals (at least, compared to ordering in/take out):

Monday: BLTs

Tuesday: Chicken and Rice with Broccoli

Wednesday: Pasta and salad

Thursday: Sausages w/ veggie (not sure what veg yet)

Friday: Chicken Fajitas

Saturday: TBD

Sunday: Slow Cooker Stew

Breakfast:
french toast
homemade waffles
toast and fruit
bagel thin w/ PB (for me)

Lunch:
mac and cheese
PB&J
leftovers

snacks:
graham crackers
raisins
peanuts

As always - make sure to check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu planning links, ideas and inspiration!

{this moment}

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

circa 2006

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!
For more moments, hope over to Soulemama.

WIP Wednesday - Winter hat and a handmade holiday update

So it's been awhile since I've done a WIP Wednesday post. I admit, I really have not crafted since the last posting. It's been a whirlwind of family visits, Doctor appointments for my knee, and most recently, the death of my grandmother (who's funeral is in a few hours). So while yes, it's technically Thursday at the time I post this - I haven't really slept yet, so it's still Wednesday to me :-D

First WIP I have is a new winter hat for my daughter Lizzy (age 7). This is a beautiful acrylic yarn I purchased last fall, when our local walmart was being remolded to a super center, and they placed nearly all their craft dept on clearance (boo!). Since I was working for the remodel at the time, I was lucky enough to be there to see them start marking down the yarn. I was able to get about 15 skeins of yarn at $1 a piece, instead of the $4-$5 a piece they would have been (SCORE!). This yarn is in a color that lion brand no longer makes to sells, so when I started running out, thank goodness for ebay! I have 2 skeins on the way and should be arriving this weekend. After accidentally felting her wool hat I made her 2 years ago, I decided that for now, acrylic yarn is the way to go for her.

she doesn't know yet it's for her

Now, on the Christmas gift crafting.... yeah, I haven't started. But I'm not worried either. Yet. But I have started making a more formalized list:

Lexi:
Juggle sticks (I'm buying these, but they are handmade on Etsy, not a mass produced set)
Mixed music cds (we put our entire cd collection on the computer, so we're looking into make a few mixed cds for her cd player)

Lizzy:
Doll repair (new hair, face, etc)
Pioneer dress with a matching one for her doll
Doll clothing

Andrew:
Super Why! dress-up costume (was going to be for Halloween but... hoping I have enough leftover to make a matching one for his doll)
I-Spy bag
Doll repair (wash, few stitches to fix)
New outfit for doll

for them all (most Liz/Andrew)
more crocheted play food
Crayon Roll (I'm considering this pattern over the one I previously posted)

As it is no surprise to me, Lexi is the hardest one to plan for. I'm really hoping i come up with more gift ideas for a 12 yr old, that are handmade, before much longer.

Do you have any W.I.P.s yourself? Doesn't matter the "craft", come share it in the W.I.P. Wednesday flickr pool! You can also head over to Musings From the Fishbowl for a list of fellow Wipsters ! Hope you have a crafty rest of your week!

Menu Planning Monday - October 25th

Another busy week here for us. I'm returning back to handbell choir this week, after being out most of the last month. Lexi has a Halloween dance Wednesday night as well this week. And now that Lizzy is in girl scouts, her meetings are about every other Thursday, so there is that as well. WHEW - tried from thinking about it all!

My grandmother died last night, this week may not end up as planned.

One of my cookbooks (Veganomicon) is missing *weep* but thank goodness for the internet, I was able to find someone blogged the recipe I needed! Check Friday's dinner for that recipe! Gonna be pulling out that slow cooker more too...


Monday: Asian Orange Chicken, rice and broccoli

Tuesday: White Bean and Chicken Chili

Wednesday: homemade baked Mac and cheese

Thursday: Subs/sandwiches

Friday: Pumpkin baked ziti with sage crumb topping

Saturday: Pizza

Sunday: Halloween! Snack food night before trick-or-treating

Breakfast: Pumpkin waffles with Apple Cider Syrup
I also hope to try these waffles and syrup over the weekend for the kids, seems it would make a nice Halloween type breakfast.

As always, make sure you head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu planning links and ideas!!

{this moment}

{this moment} - Inspired by Soulemama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.



Wishing everyone a lovely weekend!
For more moments, hope over to Soulemama.

Muffin Tin Monday - October 18th

I have not done a Muffin Tin Monday lunch in a LOOOOOOONG time, and took the opportunity today to make one for Andrew before preschool. There was no theme this week - so I just went with what we had (and a nice, easy way to get back into the habit!!

(please excuse the crappy picture)

Top row (l to r): green seedless grapes, apple jelly sandwich in leaf shapes, baby carrots
Bottom row (l to r): American cheese squares, vanilla yogurt, "fruit loops"

Andrew LOVED having his lunch this way! YAY! Normally it's impossible to get him to eat!

If you like, you can go check out this weeks other muffin tin meals at the host blog: Muffin Tin Mom

Menu Planning Monday - October 18th

Feeling really uninspired for cooking lately (and you think with it being cold and finally having a range I would be all about cooking... meh)

Here's what this week looks like:

Monday: Tacos (with TVP filling)
Tuesday: Breakfast
Wednesday: Pasta and salad night
Thursday: Turkey soup (bought a couple of thighs to cook for the "leftover" turkey), rolls
Friday: Grilled sandwiches and leftover soup
Saturday: Pizza night
Sunday: Asian Orange Chicken, rice, broccoli

I'll be back later to do a Muffin Tin Monday post for Andrew's lunch today!

And as always, make sure you go over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu planning links!

Menu Planning Monday - October 11th

My knee feels to be improving. I'm being conscience of how I'm walking, and trying to not hobble so much - and it seems to be helping. I'll know officially if I tore something, after my MRI (hoping they tell me there, and I don't have to wait to see the jerk Orthopedic surgeon again).

So, my move, push, to being more healthy. I'm going to try and include walking (and hopefully sooner rather then later, running) to my days. I have 3 hours of "alone time" Monday - Friday, I am sure i can fit in 3 days of walking/running (when i am able) in there! I'll be blogging that separately from this blog (which is mostly for my creative endeavors)... you can view that blog here: I Move

On the menu this week (and not ordering out like we did 2 times out of the last week)...

Monday: Italian sausages (mine is a vegetarian one) on a whole wheat roll, and a veggie platter to much on

Tuesday: Turkey Taco Wraps (I'll be having salad and a left over vegetarian sausage)

Wednesday: Pasta night (just plain old shells and jar sauce)

Thursday: Chicken fajitas

Friday: Left over night!

Saturday: Pita pocket personal pizza (decorate your own night!)

Sunday: Slow Cooker Ham and Mashed Potatoes (not sure what I'll be eating, but it won't be salty ham, and I dislike the texture of mashed, so i may do a baked potato for me)

I am also going to attempt to make my own whole wheat flour tortillas this week (though I did buy a package of them as a back up for Tuesday at least), and maybe finally get around to making some pear-sauce for canning... and baking some cookies for coffee hour at church.

Make sure you check out I'm an Organizing Junkie for more links to menu planning ideas!!

{this moment}

{this moment} - Inspired by SouleMama. A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.


for more moments, hope over to Soulemama.