Fall Wreath

I saw an idea for a yarn-wrapped wreath on another blog, and decided I would give it a try.  The other one was plain white, and could easily be used for any season.  But while we were looking for yarn, we (Kaitlyn and I) decided it would look cuter with fall colored yarn, and it so does!  I love this so much more than a plain white wreath.

It took longer to wrap than I thought it would, and I ran out of yarn and had to go buy more, but I really like the finished product.  The Squirrel and leaf are just pinned on, so they can easily be taken off and we can change the look.  I'll probably do more wreaths for different holidays and seasons.

House Stuff

 I've been doing a few little projects here and then to update my house.  I'm sick of wishing things were a little cuter.  I finally printed off some of the pictures my sister took of us last year.  It's hard to take a picture of pictures, especially when it's in the hallway, but you get the idea.  Eventually I'll add more black and white pictures.

I wanted to change the flowers in my holder thingies, and maybe go with the seasons.  I'm not sure if this one is quite full enough, but it always takes way more than I think it will.  I thought the stuff in this one would fill both of my containers. 

And I finally updated our family picture.  Ethan is no longer a baby in our picture! :) 

Stew Recipe

This is my favorite stew--I just toss it all in the crock pot and it's really good.

1 lb (about 2 large) peeled sweet potatoes (you can use regular, too)
1 lb carrots
1 medium yellow onion
2 lb top sirloin
3 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
1 1/2 cups low-sodium beef broth
1 1/2 cups water

And that's it.  I cook it all day in the crock pot, and add a bit of flour near the end if it seems like it needs thickened up.

Cauliflower Soup

Tonight for dinner I made cheesy cauliflower soup. I was a little worried beforehand, because I thought it might not be good, and nobody would eat it. I needn't have worried. It was so delicious. Kevin licked his bowl clean and asked if I could make it again tomorrow. I had a big huge bowl. Ethan didn't really eat it, but he doesn't eat anything these days. Troy and Kaitlyn both liked it as well.

So, here's how I made it:

Combine:
1 16 oz. bag frozen cauliflower
2 cups milk (whatever you normally drink)
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
heat until boiling, then turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 8 minutes

Slowly stir in 3 Tbs flour (you can do more or less depending on how thick you like your soup), then cook for a couple more minutes.

Remove from heat and add 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese and a little bit of lemon juice.

That's the basic recipe, and it can be altered to suit your tastes. I added a bit of herbs (I can't even remember what at the moment). You could add onions if you like them. The only thing I would do differently was that maybe I would chop the cauliflower before adding it, because some of them were pretty big, but once it's cooked the cauliflower is easy enough to cut up with your soup spoon.

Besides the soup I also made cheesy pita bread. I used whole wheat pitas, sprinkled a very small amount of cheese on the top (the cheese is just supposed to add flavor, it's not meant to be a gooey sandwich), then broiled it in the oven for a few minutes. It was a delicious side to the soup, and my whole meal was only 6 weight watchers points. To give non weight watcher people a reference, I'm supposed to have 29 points per day, so 6 for dinner is a low number, but the meal was very filling and yummy.

I got this recipe off the weekly meal plan at e-mealz, but I did alter the soup recipe a bit.

Fun Things to Do

I've had this list on my sidebar, but I decided to compile all my links into one post, and then just link to the post. While browsing the web, I often come across things I'd like to try later, and that I think other people might be interested in. So that's what you'll find in this post. So, if you ever find yourself this bored:See if there's something here that interests you:

30 Meal Plan (I do something similar to this, except I'd call it the 14 meal plan)
Acorns are Fun
Adventure bags
Covered Notebook
DIY Wallies
Felt Advent Calendars
Furoshiki
Homemade Play-doh
Magnetic Calendar
Make your own fruit picks
Making books
Organization station
Organize your art supplies
Paper Love
Sew your own cloth diapers
Silk-dyed Easter eggs

Bountiful Baskets

I kept hearing about Bountiful Baskets, and this week I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did--look at what we get to eat this week!

In case you can't tell what's in the photo, here's what we got (for $15):
Bananas
Apples
Grapes
Pears
Oranges
Persimmons
Corn
Celery
Lettuce
Brussel Sprouts
Acorn Squash
Potatoes

When you order, you don't get to pick what you get. Everybody gets the same things. I'm not sure about the brussel sprouts, but we'll see. Maybe I can find a good recipe for cooking them. I'd never had persimmons before, and actually didn't even know what they were. But I looked it up online, found out it was a fruit that can be peeled and sliced and eaten like an apple (I thought it was something more like a tomato). I had one for lunch, and it was different, but good.

If you live in one of the areas that does Bountiful Baskets, I'd highly recommend it. You definitely are getting a deal!

It's a Start!

Today was my first day on my new adventure that I talked about yesterday. I started with a bowl of steel cut oats that I had cooked overnight in the slow cooker. After I skimmed a layer of what I can only describe as goo off the top, they were delicious. I added a little brown sugar and some chopped pecans. Most of us ate and liked the oatmeal, except Ethan wouldn't even try it. He had some All Bran instead. Tomorrow I'm planning to do pancakes.

Also, on the budgeting/saving money front, I decided to try to take shorter showers. I remember reading somewhere about an actress (can't remember who, at the moment) who said she took five minute showers. At the time, I thought that was ridiculous. No one with long hair can wash and condition their hair, wash their body, and also shave their legs in five minutes. But guess what? I did it in 5 1/2 minutes this morning. Legs shaved and everything.

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Okay, it is now day two, but my keyboard stopped working in the middle of typing my blog post yesterday, so I couldn't finish it. I made pancakes for the rest of the family this morning, but I should have made a double batch because I forgot how much they eat. So they got eaten, but I had leftover oatmeal, and it was still good. And I had so much energy today at the gym--way more than I usually have. I don't know if it was the oatmeal, or the fact that Ethan has been sick and I've not gone to the gym for the last two days (I had to work out at home). Whatever it was, I'll take it, and I hope it continues!

Trying to eat better

The other day I watched the movie Food, Inc. If you haven't seen it, and you want to be able to keep eating whatever you want, for heaven sakes don't watch it! It will change the way you think. It has actually made me a bit miserable, because I'd love to be able to eat healthy, locally made or grown foods, and it's just such a huge undertaking from where I am right now.

But I decided it doesn't have to be all or nothing. I can start with baby steps and change one thing at a time until eventually we are where I would like to be with what we're eating.

So, I decided to start with meat, since that one is a biggie for me. Both in that we really like to eat meat around here and that where meat comes from is quite possibly one of the most horrifying things in the food industry. We've just made our first order for a quarter of a cow at Utah Natural Meat. This is my first baby step. This is just about all I can talk my husband into at the moment. Eventually I'd like to get all of our meat from local sources, but my chicken and fish will still have to be bought at the grocery store. For now. I have to keep telling myself I'm going in little steps. Otherwise my family (and probably me, too) would rebel.

I'm thinking even though I can't change everything completely at once, I still need to make healthier choices for our food. Even if my food can't be completely locally purchased, it can still be as healthy, organic, and unprocessed as possible. This means a big change in our breakfasts. My boys eat the sugary breakfast cereal nearly every morning. It's quick, cheap and easy, especially since my boys wake up between 6:00 and 6:30 wanting to eat right away, and I am so not a morning person. But I need to quit with the laziness and think about what's best for my kids.

So I need help. I need some good breakfast ideas that are not processed, yucky foods. I already have a recipe for pancakes made from scratch that I will do sometimes. I plan to make the pancake batter the night before so it's all ready to go in the morning. But I need more ideas, and I know they're out there. And another big thing for me is that I don't want to spend a ton of money. Eating healthier is more expensive. For some reason, our country has it backwards and the more unhealthy a food is for you, the cheaper it is, it seems.

Here begins my new adventure of eating better while trying to stay on a budget. Anyone want to join me? Start by watching this:



Also, I'm reading and really enjoying Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, and I know there are a ton of other resources out there. It's always more fun and easier to do things when you have other people trying to do the same things you are, so I'm looking for a support system. I'd love to hear from other people who are already eating healthy and local, or from those who, like me, want to start.

(Sorry to any of you who read my blog and also read Apron Girls. I'm cross-posting today)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I love this time of year so much. I just wish it didn't fly by so fast. I'm even learning to love the cold and snow. I don't really like being cold, but there's something about bundling up, going outside, and feeling the brisk air on my face that I do like. I also love the warm, giving spirit that it puts people in. Even though I was quite enjoying shoveling the driveway (and I'm being serious), I appreciate my neighbor coming to help me with his snow blower. Of course there are occasionally people that completely miss the spirit of the season, but I usually just try to avoid them, if possible.

My sweet Ethan wanted to come outside with me while I was shoveling, but I didn't want him to get all wet. So while I was outside, he decided to get himself ready to come and help me, and he came outside looking just like this. What you can't see in this picture is how he's only wearing one sock, and no shoes.

I was going to edit the other post with a picture of our Christmas tree, but instead, I'll just post it here.

Getting ready for Christmas

This year has just flown by, and my favorite time of the year is here. Advent began yesterday, and already I feel the need to start playing catch-up, since we missed it. Last year we made a cute little handprint wreath, and I was late last year, too. It seems time has a way of sneaking up on me, and I'm never ready for anything on time.

We also put up our Christmas tree tonight. I still need to do one more string of popcorn, but then I'll edit this post and add a picture. The kids put the ornaments on the tree this year, for the most part, and it makes it fun. Ethan likes to put four or five ornaments on one branch.

I'm really looking forward to a joyful season full of Jesus. It's the most wonderful time of the year. :) And to that I'll add one of my favorite Bible passages for Christmas:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5,14)

Finally---woo hoo!

After a few years, I FINALLY got my pictures from Paris framed. These have been sitting rolled up in a tube since we went, I think back in 2005. I am a huge procrastinator, and sometimes I just need to decide to do things and get them done.

So we went to Michaels, and despite being shocked at the cost, we went ahead and ordered the framing. When I picked them up yesterday, I was very pleased. They looked better than I expected. I wanted them hung on the wall by my staircase, and couldn't decide how to hang them. Troy wanted to do side by side, but I didn't think it looked as good. Plus, if you're a tiny bit off, and they're not even, it's really noticeable. So I suggested putting one lower than the other. The stairway goes down anyway, so I thought it would look okay.

And I think it does look okay. I couldn't for the life of me take a good picture of them, though. The right one was always blurry. And in this picture they look crooked to me, although they're not crooked on the wall. Anyway, here is the finished product. I love them so much, and I bet they're happy to be out of the tube.

Decorating

I've been trying to add some more cute touches to my house. If there wasn't so much clutter all over the place, I think it would look a lot nicer. Where can I hide my clutter? ;) The counter tops in my kitchen seem to be a magnet for every single thing in our house.

I just bought the case thing that says Paris at Hobby Lobby. It was half off, and I thought it would go cute. I'm not sure I love the setup on the top of these cabinets, but I don't know what else to do. I'll take any ideas!

I bought this flower container that I was going to put above my cupboards, but it didn't work. So I decided to pretty up my mantle. It'll never look fancy like in the magazines because my TV is up there, but I'll do what I can, I guess.

World of Blogging

I have been blogging, but it has been on my other blogs (links to the right). I would put it all on one blog, but I don't want this one to become inundated with posts about my runs. No, I haven't been spending a lot of extra time in the bathroom. I'm talking about getting outside and running. But come to think of it, neither of those are particularly enjoyable. I have a hard time deciding which is worst, almost.

I also read a lot (although I have been slowing down lately), so I blog about my books on a different book blog. Same thing with movies, when I remember.

And lately I've been spending WAY too much time looking at other peoples' blogs. Do you know how much time you can waste doing that? You could spend hours. You could even find that's it's 1:00 in the morning, and you're still on the internet, looking at blogs. And then there are blogs that spotlight other blogs. It's getting a bit ridiculous, if you want to know the truth. Not that those blogs are ridiculous, just the time I'm wasting. What's even worse is that I'm looking at all these blogs and websites about homemaking, getting all these great ideas, but never having any time to do anything because I'm looking at all these blogs and websites about homemaking to get all these great ideas. Do you see my problem?

Anyway, I will share a couple of my recent favorites. We'll start with Organizing Junkie. Then move on to Like a Warm Cup of Coffee. Then mosey on over to At the Well . I'm not even going to tell you about Today's Creative Blog, where you'll find out about a bunch of OTHER blogs. Because I'm not mean, and I don't want to pass on my time-wasting problems to you.

Some stuff I bought

We went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond the other day, and while I don't really love that store (it's all too expensive), I did find a few things on clearance. And since I can never pass up anything with olives, I had to buy it.They had enough for me to buy a set of these plates, but then I thought I didn't really need another set of plates. I've got probably 4 sets already. So I just bought the one to use as a display plate.

I was too lazy to take this out of the box to take the picture, but you can tell what it is. It actually looks neater than what the box shows, so use your imagination, and picture something extra cool. I'm not sure what I'll use it for, since I don't do appetizers often, but it could just be used for decoration too.

I bought a couple of these bowls. They only had 2 left. I was thinking I could put something in them, and use them as decoration, but I'm not sure what to put in them. Any ideas?

New kitchen stuff

I went with my parents to Tai Pan yesterday, and decided to get a vase and some flowers to add color to my kitchen. Everything in my house seems so bland. It's all beige, so until we can paint (which may be never, or at least until we get the basement finished, which also may be never), I've got to get color in where I can. I put the plate up there cause it seemed like there needed to be something else, but I'm not sure if the plate is quite right.