Simple Woman's Daybook ~ April 22, 2009

FOR TODAY April 22, 2009...

Outside my window... Sunny and warm. Had a blizzard the other day with lots of heavy snow, but today is 70 degrees and perfect for being outside, despite a little mud.

I am thinking... about all the little things I need to do - I guess I better write it all down before i forget something important!

I am thankful for... sunshine and snow, and a place to make a garden.

From the learning rooms...back to school after Easter break!

From the kitchen... made whole wheat bread today. making Oriental chicken and mandarin orange salad for dinner.

I am wearing... khaki pants and red t-shirt.

I am creating... a kitchen garden in my mind.

I am going... to plant seeds in egg shells with the kids tomorrow.

I am reading... Kitchen Garden by Cathy Wilkinson Barash.

I am hoping... to have some tea parties soon.

I am hearing... kids popping bubble wrap when they are supposed to be cleaning up and getting in the tub...

Around the house... some dirt in the mudroom from the kids playing outside.

One of my favorite things... Ian coming home after work!

A few plans for the rest of the week: finish up the week's school and finish planning the garden. Help Dad start the garden at his house.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... I am sorry to say that my camera and computer aren't on speaking terms, so I will describe the adorable snowmen the kids made the other day after the blizzard. There was a Daddy, a Mommy, two kids and Mommy holding a baby. Daddy's arms were made of a long stick pushed through his shoulder area, and he wore mittens and a baseball cap. Mommy wore a scarf as a baby sling and a sun hat. The kids wore little hats to help keep the sun off. The melted anyway. Today there is no trace of them except for the stick from Daddy's arms.

See the original Simple Woman's Daybook here and read other entries: http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Tea For Today

Today: Sunday, April 19, 2009 Divine Mercy Sunday
Outside My Window: sunny! The kids are making snowmen with the wet heavy snow we got yesterday.
Today's Goal: make bread and soup for dinner.
Today's Plan: Dark laundry, REALLY finish putting away all clothes from our trip.
Today's Tea: English Breakfast. This is a classic black tea.
Today's Tidbits: We are starting in FlyLady's Zone 4 (Master Bedroom & Bath). I stripped the bed to wash the sheets, and I am decluttering the trash that I have accumulated by my desk.

Tea For Today

Today: Saturday, April18, 2009
Outside My Window: BLIZZARD! it has been snowing all night and all day. We'll see how much is actually on the ground when the wind stops!
Today's Goal: Get everything from our trip unpacked and put away; sort laundry.
Today's Plan: Make menus for next week and a shopping list.
Today's Tea: Mexican Winter - it is so warming with its pepper berries.
Today's Tidbits: Today is the last day we are in FlyLady's Zone 3 (Main Bathroom plus One Other Room). Since we cleaned the bath room before we left on our trip, it is in good shape. The back room is also in good shape, so maybe just a once over on the counters and vacuuming the floor is in order.

Pantry Basics, Part 4

Mary Kochan has finished her four-part series on how to make and use a pantry in your home. This 4th part talks about saving money by copying favorite pre-packaged and restaurant foods using your own fresh ingredients. Much of the time it only takes a little more time to make a meal from scratch, and you are less likely to waste food if you put out the effort to make it yourself.

Mary mentions that as you build up your pantry and don't have to go to the store more than every couple of weeks, you will notice that you miss fresh fruits and vegetables. This is when growing a garden comes in handy, as well as frequenting farmers' markets and other local produce growers. Maybe you can trade a neighbor part of your chard harvest for part of her zuchini overflow. You will become creative in your cooking when you find yourself holding a huge bag of fresh spinach leaves!

The most important outcome of learning how to keep a pantry is the sense of gratitude you can cultivate. After all, everything ultimately comes from God, doesn't it?

Tea for Today

Today: Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Outside My Window: sunny!
Today's Goal: Get everything packed into the van for our trip.
Today's Plan: Pack the dry goods into the kids' lunch boxes, make sandwich packs to put into the cooler in the morning, finish the last load of laundry, and clean up the kitchen.
Today's Tea: 8 Treasures Green Tea.
Today's Tidbits: We are in FlyLady's Zone 2 (Kitchen). The kids are helping me by putting clean dishes away and sweeping while I finish up the dirty dishes, clear and wipe the counters, and mop the floor.

Pantry Basics, Part 3

In this article, Mary Kochan explains how to incorporate your freezer into the pantry system. Mary's system will help you stock up and save money by not having to go shopping as often as you do now. My Mother-In-Law has an upright freezer in her garage which she uses in this way, and her system works well.

At this point, our family is able to go shopping once a week. I do have some non-perishables stored and we could probably survive in our house for a month or so, if we lost power and were snowed in, as long as I start storing water. Mary says I can store enough to only have to go shopping once every 3 to six months and beyond! I am intrigued by this concept and will try it.

Right now we have our kitchen refrigerator and a medium-sized chest freezer. In a few weeks we will be receiving another, larger chest freezer. I am hoping that this summer we can grow a lot of food and freeze or dry the bulk of it. I would love to be able to go "shopping" in my own pantry all winter, and maybe save up for an upright freezer to replace the chest freezers eventually.

The fourth and final part to Mary's pantry article will be coming out next week. I will be out of town until the end of the week, so I won't blog about it until I get back. You can read the article when it comes out at Today's Catholic Woman.

A Family in Need

There is a beautiful family here in Colorado Spring who have given much of their time, talents and treasure to helping men and women choose life. They are Mike and Michele Mason, and they were instrumental in bringing 40 Days for Life to our city time and time again.

A few days ago, they welcomed their 9th child from God! Unfortunately, Mike was recently laid off from his job and after the baby was born, Michelle suffered a stroke. Families in the Colorado Springs area have stepped up to the plate and are providing meals for the Masons in their time of need. There is also a web site set up for receiving monetary donations to help see them through. If you are interested in giving part of your tithe to this wonderful family, click here.

Tea for Today

Today: Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Outside My Window: cold and snowy. More to come tonight!
Today's Goal: Exercise and drink more water.
Today's Plan: Order extra Irish Dance socks for the girls.
Today's Tea: How about a pot of After 7 Rooibos? Yummy chocolate & mint flavors! We are sipping it this afternoon after all school is done, while watching a movie from the library.
Today's Tidbits: We are in FlyLady's Zone 1 (Entrnce, Front Porch and Dining Room). The kids are helping me by doing the dusting and cleaning the fronts of the washer and dryer. I wonder if painting them would be a good idea to freshen them up a bit (the washer and dryer, not the kids). Does anyone have any ideas?