I have been blessed to be a part of the Launch Team for the upcoming Expanded Edition of HOPE FOR THE WEARY MOM. It will be released on October 23! So exciting! Stay tuned!
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
A little bit of this and that...
Who remembers the days before "multitasking" became such a big deal? I can remember being asked in a job interview about 15 years ago if I could multitask. (I said yes, but I was asking myself "What is multitasking?") Yeah, I read somewhere in the past couple years that multitasking slows down efficiency. So true! (And I read a LOT, so it's no surprise I don't remember my source on that tidbit of information.)
Today I get the opportunity to get my house ready for my in-laws coming for a visit and hunting season. :) And I'm multitasking. Using up the last of the bananas in muffins, working on laundry, setting up jobs/chores for the boys, decluttering, making lunch for myself... You get the idea. (I'd say that multitasking has been around a while.)
Here's what I've set up (see picture of chalkboard below) for my boys to help them remember what chores/jobs they need to do. Under their names are the jobs that are their responsibility only. Then below the squiggly line I'll write something in. Yesterday it was "Clean up origami." See, they have discovered the joy of origami and I find it all over the house! :) Not sure yet what today's will be. Hanging from the bottom of the chalkboard is a bucket with folded cards in it. On each card is a job, such as "MIRRORS - bathrooms" or "DISHWASHER - empty". I call these Mystery Jobs. Each day the boys have to pull out a card and do the job on it. When they are done, they have to chalk a checkmark above the card. I'm using old business cards from when I first signed up as an independent consultant with Thirty-One. It's a great way to recycle! :) So far I'm getting a positive response from the boys. They like that I'm not getting on them about doing their chores. :) A win-win situation! A friend of mine makes these chalkboards. I really like how she left the hinges and latch on this old window frame. You can find more of her items on her Facebook Page. I'll post an update once she gets a website different from Facebook.
Bananas. My least favorite fruit. I don't like them. Unless they're baked into muffins or bread. I don't like to mash them up to get them ready for baking. So, my trick is to put the whole bananas in the freezer until the skins have turned black. Then pull the number of bananas out needed for whatever recipe I'm using (usually two bananas) and let them thaw in a baking dish. Next, snip the ends off with kitchen scissors and squeeze the banana into the mixing bowl. Easy, easy! :) Here's a pic of the process after the banana has already been squeezed out ready to mix with a farm fresh egg that's been beaten. And there's the mini banana chocolate chip muffins in the oven! :) The boys will be happy when they get home from school later.
Today I get the opportunity to get my house ready for my in-laws coming for a visit and hunting season. :) And I'm multitasking. Using up the last of the bananas in muffins, working on laundry, setting up jobs/chores for the boys, decluttering, making lunch for myself... You get the idea. (I'd say that multitasking has been around a while.)
Here's what I've set up (see picture of chalkboard below) for my boys to help them remember what chores/jobs they need to do. Under their names are the jobs that are their responsibility only. Then below the squiggly line I'll write something in. Yesterday it was "Clean up origami." See, they have discovered the joy of origami and I find it all over the house! :) Not sure yet what today's will be. Hanging from the bottom of the chalkboard is a bucket with folded cards in it. On each card is a job, such as "MIRRORS - bathrooms" or "DISHWASHER - empty". I call these Mystery Jobs. Each day the boys have to pull out a card and do the job on it. When they are done, they have to chalk a checkmark above the card. I'm using old business cards from when I first signed up as an independent consultant with Thirty-One. It's a great way to recycle! :) So far I'm getting a positive response from the boys. They like that I'm not getting on them about doing their chores. :) A win-win situation! A friend of mine makes these chalkboards. I really like how she left the hinges and latch on this old window frame. You can find more of her items on her Facebook Page. I'll post an update once she gets a website different from Facebook.
Bananas. My least favorite fruit. I don't like them. Unless they're baked into muffins or bread. I don't like to mash them up to get them ready for baking. So, my trick is to put the whole bananas in the freezer until the skins have turned black. Then pull the number of bananas out needed for whatever recipe I'm using (usually two bananas) and let them thaw in a baking dish. Next, snip the ends off with kitchen scissors and squeeze the banana into the mixing bowl. Easy, easy! :) Here's a pic of the process after the banana has already been squeezed out ready to mix with a farm fresh egg that's been beaten. And there's the mini banana chocolate chip muffins in the oven! :) The boys will be happy when they get home from school later.
For lunch today I heated up some leftovers from dinner last night. Ground elk burger seasoned with fresh oregano from the garden, crushed garlic clove from the garden, and cinnamon! Fried potatoes. Green salad. All in a tortilla. So delicious it didn't even need cheese or dressing!
Enough ramblings for today! Back to work! :)
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Summer Wrap Up - Part 2
We've done some major pruning around our property since July. More like logging. We weren't able to do much yard work last Fall due to several bouts of illness in the family. So the little Farm was pretty much overgrown.
The overgrowth was taking over the house! It felt so good to prune away what we could handle - branches touching the roof, the large wisteria infested branch in the walnut tree (one of three by the way!), and other dead and dying vegetation. It's really helped slow down the spiders. And it's been a breath of fresh air to our spirits as well!
A week ago we took out some more trees, smaller ones this time.
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| Overgrown |
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| Pruned |
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| Overgrown wisteria around the power pole |
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| Removed the entire wisteria plant |
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| Wisteria infestation in the walnut tree |
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| Broken walnut branch |
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| Preparing to remove the broken branch(es) |
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| Branch removed! |
The overgrowth was taking over the house! It felt so good to prune away what we could handle - branches touching the roof, the large wisteria infested branch in the walnut tree (one of three by the way!), and other dead and dying vegetation. It's really helped slow down the spiders. And it's been a breath of fresh air to our spirits as well!
A week ago we took out some more trees, smaller ones this time.
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| Dying weeping cherry |
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| Taking down the weeping cherry |
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| Logging the weeping cherry |
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| "Timber!" |
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| This area will become my new winter garden area. |
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| A new start! |
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| Weeping cherry - dead heart wood |
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| Hollowing out the weeping cherry - to be upcycled as planters. |
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