Routine

Today hubby went back to work after 11 days off. I love getting to spend those days with him especially if we are at home with no special plans. Just laying around and watching movies or working in the yard. We actually didn't get too many of those but together time is special.

But I have to admit that with him back at work this morning and one daughter back at school, I felt my routine restored. Up early spending some time on the computer with my yummy coffee and then comes 7:00 am and I am up and at my chores. Start a load of laundry, unload the dishwasher, wipe the kitchen down and mop the floors after all the holiday and birthday gatherings. I have imposed the 7:00 am cut off so that I don't spend the entire morning on the computer not only ignoring chores but sedentary as well. Up and moving. Did you know you burn almost 200 calories mopping your kitchen floor? Good exercise and a clean kitchen. Bliss.
Here is a tip for you. If you have any egg nog left, use it in pancakes or another baking recipe. Yum! They were delicious. Don't want to throw any food away. I froze the last bit for the next time I am making pancakes.

Linking to:
Bowl Full of Lemons
One Stop Shoppe
Wow Us Wed.
Women Living Well

He Did it Again

Watch out when busy in the kitchen for hours cooking for a party. One's husband may just start decorating and you would never know clanking around in the kitchen with flour in your hair.

All kidding aside, my husband could no longer handle this empty cupboard after the snowmen had been tucked away.

I love it and won't change a thing. Not sure why the little yellow candle is up there but hey it works for me.

Linking to:
Bowl Full of Lemons
Tabletop Tuesday
Coastal Charm

Frugal Challenge 2012

It is that time of year where we start fresh. Once again I am joining Precious at Frugal Makes Cents for the 2012 Money Saving Challenge. Looking back at 2011 I did a lot of frugal challenge posts and implemented more thrifty ways into our home. I mean you have to. Everywhere you look, prices are just skyrocketing. If you get a raise at all than it is eaten up by higher health care costs. Just putting food on the table is more and more expensive. So for 2012 I want to re-commit myself to the frugal practices I implemented last year and commit myself to even more money saving habits and practices.

Here is what I did in 2011 that I will for sure continue:

1.Most meals ate at home including lunches prepared at home. Also more inexpensive but meatless meals like these.
2. Using homemade cleaners like alcohol and water for glass and surface cleaning.
3. Trying to combine trips in the car.
4. Continue to get through without using our second refrigerator. This has saved us a bundle and we made it      through the holidays with our small kitchen fridge only. We will save the other one for our daughter when she moves out or if ours breaks down.
5. Other energy saving measures like the awning and the energy audit suggestions I wrote about here. We will be purchasing two more awnings for our west facing windows that receive afternoon sun.
6. Continuing to pay cash for everything. I managed to do this for Christmas this year with the exception of some items I ordered online and have not received the bill yet. That will be paid back promptly. This is something I have to remain committed to as we are paying off one last car right now and another loan that is thankfully almost paid off too. We have a daughter in college right now and one more starting next year.
7. I will coupon a little for the things we actually use like our toiletries. We use large amounts of shampoo and conditioner and other hygiene items so I have to really look for bargains here.

Where I want to improve in 2012:
1. More meals at home or homemade. We are gone one day a week all day and we usually pick up some fast food for myself and the two kids with me. I have seen this as a treat but really if I cut it back to twice a month only and we bring a picnic lunch the other days I could save roughly $30 a month just on this one item.
2. More freezer meals made in advance. I want to commit one day a month to prepare freezer meals for the nights we are short on time and I may be tempted to pick something up.
3. Shop around all of our insurance polices for auto and home. I keep putting this off and am committed to doing this early this year. I will look at it as a job. One hour per week at a determined time to get on the phone and comparison shop until I find the best option for us. We have two young drivers in our home so we really need to try and cut back on auto insurance costs if we can.
4. Trying to keep grocery costs down. I don't know with rising costs if you can even cut back much more than I already have but I want to commit to less expensive but healthy meals and finding the best bargains out there. I think a price book type comparison of the foods we use most is the best means right now to do this. Keeping a small book with the best deals I can find so I know where to stock up is the best option for now. Coupons I use will be for items we already eat. I really think the one way to save most in this area is cooking more from scratch. I do this for the most part already but making maybe my own mixes and things may help as well. Food savings will be a main focus for me in 2012.
Please share any ideas or suggestions you have. I am an eager student.

Linking to:
Met Monday
Homemaker on a Dime
Its So Very Cheri
Tuesday's Treasures
Tutorial Tuesday
Bowl Full of Lemons
Time Warp Wife

Eight Days, Four Parties and Orange Fluff

Whew. In the last eight days we have been to two parties and hosted two parties. Okay I am done until the summer party season when my two daughters both graduate. Mom is tired, dad is tired, okay we are all tired but satisfied with the fact that we have had some good times with those we love. Today was warm and sunny and we barbecued and enjoyed the patio. Perfect weather. We never know if it will rain or shine for my daughter's December birthday but it usually is sunny.

We take a photo with our kids on their birthdays every year. I so wish my mom would have done that. She never wanted her picture taken and we don't have many of her. Don't indulge your camera shyness. Get out from behind it and get in front of it so your kids have lots of shots of you to enjoy and make your folks let you take shots of them or sneak them in un-posed if you have to.

I see a pattern here. I like heart shaped bowls. I own lots of them.

My birthday girl of fourteen letting the little sis blow out the candles.

Orange Fluff. Made by my mom many a time and made by me every once in a while. Takes me back.

Orange Fluff:
1 can Mandarin oranges
1 small can of crushed pineapple
3 oz. box of Orange Jello
16 oz. cottage cheese
1 container of Cool Whip
1 cup mini marshmallows

Drain the mandarin oranges and pineapple. In large bowl mix jello with cottage cheese until dissolved. Add fruit and mix. Add Cool Whip and marshmallows and mix well. Chill thoroughly or over night.

Happy New Year Wishes

I am hoping you all have a wonderful New Years whether at home or out celebrating. Usually we stay and head to bed early but we are going out to a family Bunco party. Not sure how that will go with a three year old running around but we will just leave when she hits the wall.  We had a nice day celebrating our daughter's 14th bday yesterday. She wanted to go to the mall with friends and have lunch. Hubby and I hung out for a couple of hours while they shopped and met them for lunch. Hubs figured out he had not been to a mall in about 15 years. What you do for your kids. It was nice and watching the girls have fun is the best part.

Many blessings to you and yours in the coming year. No matter what, the ups and downs, coming to this little   place in life, where women lift one another up and send encouraging words as we share our lives, is something I am so thankful for. So glad to be in this community. Happy New Year to you and yours.

Hello New Beginnings and Clean Spaces

I am always a little thrilled when the holiday stuff comes down and you can start fresh. A new year is dawning and surfaces have been straightened and wiped down. Putting back the everyday decor takes on a fresh new start. I don't sew or craft so to arrange things in my home is I guess my creative outlet. Changing things around and coming up with new ideas to display my cherished goodies is just down right a heck of a lot of fun. And when you find the right combo of this and that and you say, "wah-lah," it is so very pleasing.

I had intended to paint the kitchen in 2011 but never got to it. Only about half my painting jobs were completed. I won't be painting straight ahead but instead we will be focusing on doing some maintenance to our home and cars. You know how when it rains it pours kind of thing?

Hubs spent six hours on a new faucet that we discovered Christmas day was leaking into the cupboard below. The old one that is and then the installation never goes smoothly. We have several things that need attention and then my check engine light went off in the car and so on. You know pressing life stuff. So any new decorating for now will have to be with items I already own or cheaply thrifted pretties.

I have plenty of stuff already so who needs more stuff really? I did put out my thrift store yellow check thermos on my kitchen shelf. I love it!

Kept the colors simple up here for now. Have to have a little red so the lid of the jar with the eggs will do.

Linking to:

The Charm of Home

Show and Tell Friday

Common Ground

French Country Cottage

Potpourri Friday

Fridays Unfolded

Sat. Night Special

Seasonal Sundays

Met Monday

Table Top Tuesday

Polohouse

Is it Summer?

It is so darn warm here. After going to breakfast with hubby we decided to clean up our little veggie garden in the front and let the little one play outside. I wore a tank top and shorts and was sweating out there.  Looks rather shabby out there but I still have one tomato plant that is giving me a few cherry tomatoes and some bell peppers still on the plants. We weeded and got the beds ready for some lettuce I will be planting soon. With temps predicted to be in the 80s by the weekend. Not very wintery but nice for the kids to get out in.

DETAILS

Still picking a few peppers so I am leaving the plants in until the last moment. Q was playing with the hose it was so warm out there. Thankful for my little veggie patch that provides so much  for our table. I need to keep it up year round with our warm weather but tend to neglect it come fall.

The parsley is thriving and this little bunny just keeps nibbling away.

Cheap and Easy New Years Ideas

Cheap and easy are my motto. Not for myself of course but for craft projects. I was hunting around the internet and found some things I think even I could handle.

How cute is this and of course you would need it to be 2012. Click the link for directions.

Martha Stewart

This is so fun and if you have kids you probably already have these bottle brush sticks in your craft box.

Okay this one I am so going to do. I have a glass cake stand and will pick up some blowers at the market. This is so simple yet such a great effect.

                                                                     Martha Stewart

Before you put away all your little glass baubles, look how pretty this is.

We aren't having a New Year's Eve party but people over for New Year's Day so I want to make some sort of festive centerpiece. I am for sure doing the blowers on the cake stand. Happy New Year!!!

Linking to:
It's Overflowing
Open House Party
Transformation Thursday
Wow Us Wed.
Stuff of Success
What's It Wed.
Kahterine's Corner
Southern Product Queen
Show and Tell Friday

My Favorite Posts of 2011

Thought I would share some of my favorite posts from this past year. Nothing particularly special but things that I really enjoyed or tips that really worked for me. The money saving tips are always useful and worth sharing a second time.

With a Cherry on Top

How to Clean Wood Blinds

Secret to the Fluffiest Pancakes Ever

Lowering Your Electric Bill

Linking to:
Homestories A to Z
Wow Us Wed.
Women Living Well
Raising Homemakers
Sugar and Spice
Mod Mix Monday
Common Ground
From My Front Porch to Yours
Seasonal Sundays

Charlie Brown Day

Had a funny day yesterday. I did nothing much at all and compared to all the running around and Christmas prep that felt strange. Wanted to show you the Charlie Brown tree one of the kids bought me for Christmas. I love it being the Peanuts fan I am.

Boiling this ugly thing up to make a pot of ham and bean soup. My dog kept following me around hoping I was going to give it to her.

Washed and put away the Christmas dishes for another year.

This is the dregs of the cookie tin. That is it. Thank goodness. I need to eat something whole and real and not baked or whipped. I am actually craving the opposite of this now.

Please kids eat these all up and fast. Get them out of my sight and house all together.

I am making a big batch of my chopped Greek salad today. Crunchy and low fat is on the docket. You can find the recipe here.

Oh, and I wanted to just thank everyone for the kind thoughts on my brother's step daughter. She is actually not a young child but in her late forties. My brother is 16 years older than me and his wife is 11 years older than him so I just wanted to clarify. It still is the most terrible thing for my sister in law. No matter the age, it is her child.

Linking to:
Foodie Friday

Christmas Wrap-Up

We had a wonderful holiday with lots of visiting. good food and laughs. Below is my nephew that I was so thrilled have for a couple of nights. There are just people you love so much and they light up a room. He is one of them. He gave me the best gift with his visit. Something must be wrong with me as I am not going to the Country General Store after Christmas sale. I go every year but last night I told hubby I have enough Christmas stuff and can't add one more thing and I am tired and am going to stay in my sweats all day and play with the kids, edit some of our pictures (erasing the ones where I have ten chins).  I have already made playdough soup this morning so I am on track to spend the day not doing much of anything.

Christmas Eve was at our friend's annual party. Here Q is rocking the party with some drums.

I gave the kids the Just Dance game. It was a hit but it is harder than you'd think or I am just that lame? Not sure.

Funny hats were popular this year. This one made the rounds.

Here it is on grandpa. Hmm which one does it look cuter on.

Early Christmas morning. Santa has been here and just waiting for the kids to rise. They always sleep in and we wake them cause we can't wait any longer. Hubby brews some coffee and the moments before the opening begins is what all the work was about. Good job moms and dads. We all made another Christmas happen for our kids.

My husband always says, "There's another Christmas in the books." Here we are tired but happy that we had a wonderful time and all went well.

My heart was torn over the holiday as my brother's step daughter, who is dying of cancer, has just been taken off life support. We spent the holiday with loved ones and enjoying good times while my poor sister in law is doing what must be the hardest thing ever, saying goodbye to a child. Say a prayer that she can recover from this. I mean are you ever the same after that? I pray her family and kids find some peace after it is all over. Such a hard time for them.
Linking to:
A Delightsome Life

Inspiration

Are you feeling it? The post Christmas, almost New Year itch to tidy things up. Make your home better, more organized and streamlined. Maybe it is the influx of all the new stuff that just came into it. Toys for our youngest, new games and pretties for our older girls, but something about this time of year inspires me to want to really organize some of our spaces.

All the photos are ideas I have found for specific areas in our home. Love this first one and already hung my own version in our bathroom. I will have to share a photo later of that. With four daughters and millions of bottles of hair product in their bathroom, one must get creative with where to store all those bottles.

I hung a wire basket but love this photo's idea too.

Would really like to come up with some better under the bed storage than the usual plastic boxes. Love the wheels on this one and the chalkboard label.

I can't tell you the number of game systems in our house but they are often on my den floor. This deep ottoman storage unit would be great for storing the ones the kids use most often in our den.

I have a very teeny weeny pantry and would love to get it more efficient. It is pretty organized but I would love more food storage containers to prevent things from going stale and to stockpile more canned goods in the same amount of space. These types of containers can be spendy though.

I really want to better utilize the space in my service porch where I have my mom's old table with my microwave on it. Here I have this whole vertical space, but am not using it as well as it could be. A tall storage unit with shelving would be perfect for things like packages of paper towels. The amount of space not being used is killing me. Love all the organized dishes here. See the bags for the stacks of plates. I would have never thought of this.

As I implement these ideas I will share them with you. All photos are from bhg.com.

Linking to:
BNOTP
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Coastal Charm
Wow Us Wed.