tina's snippets!

Domestion Graduation?

Well, I need to check with Janny - but I may have passed my domestication process... I think I am fully domesticated.

Here's why:

I polished my stainless steel sink.

Yup, I was inspired by the idea of selling my house - so I polished the sink.

Can you believe it?

I've lived here 6 years and never thought of it until the other day. My friend Tracy came over to help me get organized to sell the house - which she is thinking of starting an organization business - and she should - she ROCKS!
She recommended the Method stainless steel cleaner from Target. Not only does it work great - but the smell is fantastic! I am wondering if it's really an air freshner! What suprised me the most is that I get to the cleaning section to buy it and there's all sorts of stainless steel cleaners! There's wipes too!

WOW - this must be a serious thing in the domesticated world - I am thinking! Then I read something about the fronts of appliances - so all these cleaner options have been spurred on by stainless appliances. Then I am thinking 'Seriously, people polish this stuff?? I must be totally out of it when it comes to home care!' I spent the $4 bucks and brought it home. It sat for a week on my shelf - well because I like the bottle - it's a pretty stainless color and well designed...tonight I put it to work. And I was awestruck by the results.

Truly, I am domestically challenged. It is a huge weakness of mine. I can't be perfect in all areas of life - well, that's what the good therapists tell me (ahhemm my friends!). But for some reason - I just really don't 'hear' that well on statements like that! To show you how domestically challenged I am - thought I would share a couple of blogs I've been watching -
Diary of a SAHM ** Full Bellies, Happy Kids (today is something about watercress soup - beware) ** I'm an Organizing Junkie ** The New Homemaker
(today they are dying silk scarves with kool-aid - these ladies are a little over the top in their domestication for my style, but it's great to see all the alternatives out there:-)

With all that blog readin' and polishin' my stainless steel - I think that qualifies me for domestication?? Don't you??

Random Fun

Blowin' off some serious steam! Whew...I've been packin & cleanin gettin this house ready to sell. Luckily, I had some help from my friends:

Michel may only be 14, but she has the heart of a true organizer..look what she did to my cabinets? I love how she faced all my muffin mixes to the front! Yes, we do eat that many muffins!

But, she was not alone on this task...Janet was the super woman directing the show. She came in and said - we're taking it all out! It was music to my ears!!! She was so focused that I didn't dare ask her to look up for a photo - her mojo was in gear. Never interfere with mojo!
Of course, it wasn't all work with out play! Geez, I cannot imagine a day without play! This idea was inspired from Heidi Swapp's blog which was inspired from Rachel Ray's magazine...you get the idea...

An art station.

These lovely art supplies will occupy the table during the day. Complete with butcher paper taped down to the surface for random doodling!

Rebekah & Michel dove into the supplies - I forgot to grab the camera I was busy cleaning and enjoying watching their creative energy - it gave me a boost to keep cleaning!

This is just a part of my summer learning series with Rebekah. My hope is that I can create enough learning that is fun for her - she loves to learn and especially when it's unstructured and creative learning - MY STYLE!!!

All I know is that she wants to do lots of math (not my style) and learn about Egyptians. Social Studies isn't her gig - so I am hoping that she will engage with the Egyptians and find it exciting to learn about other cultures. But if not, that's OK too... I will be posting her interviews later in the week. She came up with doing interviews of people and then writing a paragraph or two based on their responses.  Larry & I were the first to be interviewed and the results were amazing!

I've seen this on other blogs the last few days - thought I would give it a go! Have fun...I am suprised I was only 30% - hmm maybe I am growing closer to normal as I grow up!

You Are 30% Weird

Not enough to scare other people... But sometimes you scare yourself.

How Weird Are You?

I found this idea on the web. Taking some time to reflect on the week in different areas of life.
The focus on Family, Food & Thankful is a great way to wrap up the week!

Feel free to snag this image if you would like to join me. I made it myself! The image is from flowers growing on my porch. Aren't they gorgeous? They are the most beautiful shade of pansies I've ever seen!

Family

• Rebekah finished school on Friday. Since we are looking at moving, it was also possibly her last day at Hallsville Elementary. This really is kind of sad for me. It has been a fabulous elementary. I am glad she has had such a positive school experience. She won 3 awards - physical fitness, music and a citzenship award. She is such a well accomplished student. I cannot tell you how big her future is in my eyes.
• Quinten has had a growth spurt. A little less chubbiness starting to happen around the middle. He still has his big chubby thighs and solid through and through! He also has had a mental growth spurt - he has been telling me stories of his day and getting chronology in there, he has started singing songs about events that are happening such as getting dressed and playing buzz lightyear. The songs are my favorite - they are just set to a tune in his soul and he lets it loose! His personality has chilled out quite a bit - although he does take energy still!
• Larry has been a cheerleader this week! If you know Larry, then you know he is the reserved and realist in our relationship. I was dealing with a huge emotion at the end of the week and facing a huge fear of rejection. He cheered me on and gave great reassurance! It was nice to let someone else do that role for me instead of doing it myself or feeling like I had to maintain energy for the relationship.

Friends

• I am adding this category to reflect on because I have some GREAT friends and I don't think they realize or know how dearly I think of each of them....if your name is not mentioned...don't worry it will be soon I am certain!
• Donna has had a terrible week in her family. She is such a woman of soul care. She really gets what is going on inside a person and how it affects them. This week it was such an honor to serve her and her family by helping out. I am so grateful for watching her son (who is a delight to interact with...he's got his own personality..I love kids like that!), taking McDonald's to her and Allison and praying for her!
• Janet - love ya sister! Janet got to see all my feelings on rejection in her kitchen this week. She was so gracious as always! Her name means Gift of God and that is her - she gives herself as a gift in her relationships - it's so fabulous and truly who she is! thanks for letting me meltdown!
• Mindi - Mindi you're on my blog! You are so noticed! OK - internal joke! Seriously, I am very grateful for this girl! She's got the spunk and fun thing going on - as well as a deep spirit. She is not afraid to ask the  tough questions or push on me. I so respect anyone who will push back on what I am thinking and feeling. It was a great week to have her walk in fear with me and keep my toes accounted for! Thanks Mindi!

Food

• What to do here? I have fallen off the menu wagon. Well really it's been so crazy here that the menu  is the last thing on my mind. It was great to not run to the store for impulses because we had food. I just changed things around and ate what sounded good out of the freezer. In the food dept, this week I wanted lots of comfort food. I think I've cooked and eaten enough cream of mushroom soup! I want creamy goodness when I need comfort food. Check out the crock pot recipe a few days ago.
• Thinking of new recipes for our freezer group - will post my ideas soon - so you can share and so I don't forget!

Thankful

• Wisdom - I am grateful for God's sweet wisdom when it comes into my life. This week it came in huge through a local banker in helping me understand mortgages and financial decisions. I had never met him before and I asked for solutions and ideas - wow - he rose to the challenge. I think it was a mutual respect for being proactive that made this a successful meeting.
• Openness
• My spiritual home and family
• Flowers - the sweet beauty they offer delights me!
• Justin Cobb - he provides great lawncare, not only that he's a got a huge heart, I just like the guy - KWIM??? But having him care for our lawn has taken such a stress load of Larry & I that I get grateful each time the yard gets mowed!

 
 

Friday Feast

We've been busy painting and getting our house ready to sell that I am kind of blah on the blog ideas! I finally scrapped today!! I would show you but Jannylynn would kill me..but here's the secret - it's a fabulous kit designed based on my purse!! It's so flippin' awesome...it doesn't go on sale until June 1 at Elemental Scraps.

So I found this Friday Feast in my draft folder and thought I would delight you with it:

Appetizer
What is your usual bedtime?  Do you like that, or would you rather it be different?

Lately, my bedtime has been 10:00 pm. I like it, but it's totally new for me. I am at heart a night owl but with Q getting up each morning at 6:30 - it just doesn't work for me. Every once in a while I'll stay up late like tonight.

Soup
When it comes to advice, do you give more or receive more?

Do I really need to answer - yeah - give more!

Salad
Describe a memorable meal you've had.

This is hard because do I choose the food or the company? If it's the food, then my first dinner at CC's with Larry 4 years ago - mmmm tender beef - is there anything better? If it's the company, then I love my lunches with my Take 2 gals or any ol' lunch/coffee with friends.

Main Course
Name a work of fiction that affected the way you think about something.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein - broaden your view of the world and how to challenge what's in front of you - this is what it taught me at a very young age of 7. He looks at the ordinary with a creative twist - love it - still my fave after all these years!

Dessert
What is your favorite type of fruit juice?

Weird question - ummm orange juice with lots of pulp or fresh squeezed - really any juice made with one of those juicer machines - really should invest in one of those!

OK so I can't wait to show you this:

Isn't she adorable? This is just a small sample of the kit Jannylynn made from my purse..there will be lots of layouts with this kit!!

This was a recent fashion show on my front porch with Lauren and Rebekah...hmmm maybe I'll show you those too...

tomorrow!

comfort food

Crock Pot Saucy Pork Chops by Jannylynn

1 - 2 lbs bone in pork chops
1 can mushroom soup
1 pkt onion soup mix
pepper to taste

Mix soups and place mix and meat in greased crock pot on low for 2.5-3 hours. This recipe also freezes well before cooking, just dump all ingredients in bag and freeze. No need to pre-cook the pork.

We add an additional can of soup and onion mix to our recipe. We love the savory taste and it's so good over mashed potatoes - a serious dish of comfort food!

Thanks Diary of a SAHM!

Tina likes to . . .

I am procrastinating starting my day. It's going to be a big day of more de-cluttering and moving furniture. I love it when it's done - everything is clean and simple - but getting started...

I was on the bloglines and saw Erin's random blog post on what she likes to do.

All you do is type your name and "likes to" all together in quotes in google. You will be suprised at the results!

To accompany my shocking results, thought I would share a fun picture from Omaha of the Big O! Oh!
Fits all the shocking things below:

1. Tina likes to socialize and will use any excuse to celebrate with friends. ... Tina likes to be admired and she has a tendency to force admiration by ...

2. Tina likes to put in a good 11 hours of sleep in one fell swoop. ...

3. Tina likes to say she is "just a country girl from Nutbush who had a dream."

4. Tina likes to. eat. beautiful fishes.

5. Tina likes to help the grounds keeping crew take care of the field. Her favorite food is an orange

6. Tina likes to enjoy life in the moment. She realizes how precious life is and really tries to remember that we are not promised tomorrow. ...

7. Tina likes to hide under the bed!

8. Tina likes to watch The Daily Show and read whole novels in Barnes and Noble.

9. Tina likes to blog about:. Tina has not yet defined her blogs.

10. Tina likes to keep a nice clean house, and can be obsessive in her neatness. She is a persistent knitter, but has never quite mastered that art.

There you go! I think you will notice what is true about me - knitting, The Daily Show, eat beautiful fishes...OK DH is making a list for the hardware store and eager to start the day - slave driver - grrrrrr

Happy Birthday Cole!

It was our first double digit birthday this weekend.
Cole turned 10!!!

It seems very unreal to have an official 10 year old here..makes me reflective of everything we've been through for him to be 10!!

We had a great birthday weekend. We took a different approach for his day. Cole loves to do stuff as a family. It's his thing for us all to be together doing an activity.

So this day was spent with gifts that brought the family together and playing together. We got him a set of disc golf frisbee's. Dad and the big kids headed over to the disc golf course for a round while Q napped. Earlier we hunted down an easy LB that featured tweety bird. Then we invested in a croquet set.

Yes, that's me with the mallet!

I played this game so much at Grandma's house as a kid. Absolutely, great summer memories with all my cousins playing croquet.

It was great to share this simple game with the kids. They got a kick out of it. We kept saying we felt very british playing the game...

Finally, we topped the day off with tennis. Headed out to the courts - all five of us. Q only got hit once during a serve..it was awful. He kept going and this morning asked if we were going 'to play dennis'. Who knows, maybe some lesson will creep into our world during the summer!

Cole had a great day, we all had a great day. Of course, we finished it off with his favorite meal - homeburgers and banana pudding. We were all stuffed, sweaty and overly content with the day!

Household Exec says

A quote from the Household Exec.

"you are all about the food lately. but it is great. food is what brings a family together."

You never know where a good dose of encouragement will come from. This came from a google talk session with the Household Exec. We were just chatting away and it came up about how I had been blogging about food.

She comes back with the above quote. It made me stop and think -

it's true.

No matter what the circumstance, bring out the food and people come running. Even in the picture with Q - he thought he would make his own toast one morning - well I came running! He did a pretty good job, he especially liked the smashing it into the toaster, so if it was plugged in - he would have made toast balls!

Our family has been somewhat scattered for the last 2 weeks with various deadlines on different members- Larry had a corporate training at his store and overnight cleaning sessions. Rebekah has had end of the school assemblies and parties. Q & I are somewhat just along for the ride, but we've been spending as much time as possible outside. Then at night it's grab some food and hit the sack.

Again, tonight we have a party to go to for some friends moving to Tennesee. There will be lots of food at this event. We are to bring a side and 2 ltr of soda. It's at the park in Hallsville. The kids will be playing and eating until the sun goes down. It will be a great night to relax and enjoy a party with our friends.

Check and see if there's food in your world bringing the people together - then enjoy the people!

101 New Uses for Everyday Things | Life Skills : RealSimple.com

Don't you love stuff like this? I could read quick tips all day...and then go try them all out..let me know what you find most helpful!

FYI - I am going to skip using olive oil to shave my legs

Link: 101 New Uses for Everyday Things | Life Skills : RealSimple.com.

Weekly Menu

 

I am staying accountable to that menu I posted last week! I thought I would join the menu plan monday crew and highlight this weeks menu:

Here's the plan for the week - starting with today!

Tuesday -
B - sausage/toast
L - PBJ
D - chicken & butter/cream - green beans - mashed potatoes

Wednesday -
B - cereal
L - mac-n-cheese
D - mexican meatloaf

Thursday -
B - bacon/toast
L - pizza
D - creamy burritos

Friday -
B - pancakes
L - tacos
D - freezer meal (not sure which one sounded good) or frito pie

Saturday -
B - grits
L - tacos
D - Cole's Birthday Dinner

Sunday -
B - cereal
L - BMT
D - Big Beef