Simple Living, Extraordinary Life ~ The Dailies 3/16/18

Today has been mostly cloudy, with momentary bits of rain and sun, each vying for it's rightful place in the spotlight.  I did my errands (Home Depot, Target, Dollar Tree, Walmart, Aldi & Walgreens.  Yeah.  The sheer memory of it exhausts me.) for the week yesterday, so today I am dividing my time between the indoor and the outdoor activities that wait patiently for me to tend to them.  Mostly though, I've been lounging.  That's the only drawback that I, personally, have with cloudy/rainy days.  They make me want to laze about.  Not that I'm complaining.  Luxuriating in laziness is my specialty.  But, there are things to do that won't be denied.  Laundry.  Meal prep.  Light housekeeping.  They will get done.  Soon.  Verrry soon😉.

Later that day...

The sun ended up coming out, rousing me from my cozy cocoon.  I happily set about checking on plants and seedlings and tried out my new spray nozzle that I bought at the Dollar Tree  (I got the green one~not bad for a dollar!).  I unloaded the five bags of potting soil and humus/manure mix from the back of the truck.  Rearranged some plants and empty plant pots.  I tinkered and piddled around and tinkered some more until I went inside.

photo credit:  Dollar Tree website (not affiliated with)

Indoors, I did a load of laundry, tidied the powder room and a dozen other little things that had me feeling like a busy bee, flitting from bloom to bloom.  And then my Avon order came in so I took care of that.

After a dinner of low carb turkey chili (this recipe, only with ground turkey), I settled in, contentedly, for the evening.

Whewww!  And you thought I was going to hibernate all day, lol!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing the day with me! ~TJ

Tuesday's Menu and Goals Update and Wednesday's Goals

sage (front) basil (behind)

Our meals today were kind of grab & go because we were

waiting on the dishwasher to be delivered and didn't want

to have a mess happening in the kitchen when they came.

BUT THEY NEVER SHOWED!!!  Thanks SEARS! I honestly

hope to never do business with them again UNLESS they

TOTALLY make this up to us. This isn't the first hiccup (to

put it mildly) we've experienced with them.

And to place a cherry on the top of our day, just as I had come to terms with the fact that we had been stood up, I decided to go ahead and go to the grocery store. When I stepped into our closet to get my shoes, the carpet was wet and there was a mighty funky odor. So we spent an hour emptying out the closet to save our stuff from whatever is leaking. I guess we'll add that to our "to do" list for tomorrow too. 

I never made it to the grocery store.  / ':   Oh well.

C'est la vie!

Enough venting. Moving on.

basil (front) sage (behind)

Tuesday's Menu

Breakfast~ hubby = scrambled eggs & American cheese

sandwich; I had a banana blueberry protein shake; coffee

Lunch~ I had an Atkins meal replacement bar

Dinner~ I had coleslaw; hubby had a bowl of cereal

***water for beverages unless noted. I'm also trying to

incorporate drinking a glass of water with 2 teaspoons of

 apple cider vinegar mixed in daily.

Tuesday's Goals

1.  Wait for dishwasher delivery/installers (thank the Lord!)

They never showed. We'll have to reschedule.

2.  go through seeds and choose next ones to plant

3.  harvest sage& amp; (since I didn't do it Sunday) basil to dry

4.  Pack modem for return and take to UPS (I didn't take it to

UPS since I was unable to go to the store (waiting on

Sears). UPS is in the same little shopping center as the

grocery store and I was going to kill two birds with one stone

to save time & gas.

5.  spend at least 15 minutes working on more misc.

sewing/mending

6.  Spend 15 minutes cleaning and organizing sewing/craft

room.

 



 

Wednesday's Goals

1.  call Sears to find out what happened with the delivery of the dishwasher. Reschedule.

2.  take hubby to doctors appointment.

3.  plant seeds that I chose yesterday. (parsley; tarragon; kale; four o'clocks;  johnny jump up's (also known as violas, which we prefer as that's my DD's best friends nickname  :D )

4.  take modem for return to UPS

5.  go to grocery store

6.  spend 15 minutes cleaning and organizing sewing/craft room.

7.  spend at least 15 minutes working on more misc. sewing/mending

 

 

~bonus (if I can get to it project(s)~

I'm not even going to worry about this one today, lol!

I would LOVE to hear about your day!

  

Have a great day y'all!~ TJ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday's Menu and Goals Update and Tuesday's Goals

oregano and thyme from the garden~ready to dry!

 

I know posting my daily menus and goals may not

interest everyone but I, personally, enjoy having a peek into

other people's menus and the things that fill their days. It

often gives me motivation and inspiration when I'm feeling

"blah" as far as the "day in and day out" goes.  So...I thought

I might offer the same. Besides, it keeps me accountable

when I know others might be looking on.  And that, in itself,

keeps me motivated!

Monday's Menu

 

Breakfast~ scrambled eggs with American cheese; hubby

had toast; coffee 

Lunch~ I had an Atkins meal replacement bar

Dinner~ I had a shrimp salad with homemade creamy herb

 

dressing; hubby had a

blt & dinner salad with Thousand Island (both

homemade~trying to use up

what we have on hand before going grocery shopping)

 

***water for beverages unless noted. I'm also trying to

 

incorporate drinking a glass

of water with 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar mixed in.

Since my Monday didn't go quite as planned, I only

 

accomplished the first three things on my list. So they will go

 

on my Tuesday list.

 

 

Monday's Goals (Update)

1.  take hubby to doctor appointment

2.  misc. sewing/mending~

3.  powder room windowsill hotspot~ clean it off & wipe it down

4.  spend 15 minutes in craft/sewing room cleaning and organizing

5.  go through seeds and choose next ones to plant

6.  harvest sage & (since I didn't do it Sunday) basil to dry

 

                             ~bonus (if I can get to it project(s):

* clean out cabinet under microwave

 

 

 

Tuesday's Goals

 

1.  Wait for dishwasher delivery/installers (thank the Lord!)

2.  go through seeds and choose next ones to plant

3.  harvest sage& (since I didn't do it Sunday) basil to dry

4.  Pack modem for return and take to UPS

5.  spend at least 15 minutes working on more misc. sewing/mending

6.  Spend 15 minutes cleaning and organizing sewing/craft room.

 

~bonus (if I can get to it project(s):

* clean out cabinet under microwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday's Goals~Update and Menu

 

 

 

Friday's Goals

1. raspberries~ freeze the 5 pints I bought on sale for $1 each at Randalls on Wednesday. (I rinse, air dry for a bit on paper towels and then spread out on a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet before popping in the freezer for and hour. Then into zip top gallon bags before placing back into the freezer. Some I might use the food saver on for longer storage.

2.  chicken stock~ strain and place chicken stock that I made in the slow cooker from

 carcass of  the baked chicken we had last week. Place into freezer containers and into

freezer. (The one chicken was eaten baked the first night, and then we used some meat in

 a green salad another night. Any bits of chicken that is strained out of the broth will be

a treat for the kitties. OK...and maybe Dollface too.)

3.  vacuum downstairs

4.  oregano, thyme and basil~ cut and prepare for drying. (I just lay herbs out on a flour sack towel lined baking sheet and cover with paper towels so that air circulates but no dust settles on them.)

5. tackle kitchen hotspots~ the table and windowsill by the back door become a catchall for things that need to go out in the garage,garden or recycling bin. ugh...

6.  bathe Dollface~ so `tinky toes can become twinkly toes! (did I hear a puppy "ugh"?)

~bonus (if I can get to it project(s)~

*misc. sewing/mending

Above, I marked through the "to do" items I accomplished. The ones I didn't

complete I will do on Sunday as I set aside Saturdays as a Sabbath/day of

rest/rejuvenation of my mind, body and spirit. My to do lists are by no means the only

things I do for the whole day, they are things that don't fall into my "dailies" category,

such as meal preps, watering plants/lawn/garden, laundry etc.

Speaking of meal preps, I also want to, again, try to remember to keep track of my daily

menus/meal plans here so that when I lose my "what should I cook for dinner" mojo, I

will be able to review menus past for some inspiration. I'll start with today!

Fridays Menu

Breakfast~ scrambled eggs on cinnamon raisin english muffin, coffee (hubby had a slice

 of american cheese on his)

Lunch~ frozen fruit/spinach smoothie (me, hubby didn't want anything)

Dinner~ macaroni & cheese (boxed. We prefer our homemade stovetop version but I had

 a couple of boxes in the pantry and wanted to use them up before they went bad.);

dinner salad, water to drink.

Nothing exciting but nourishing and comforting. And fairly frugal! (Because to be

honest, I was tempted to go pick up burgers for dinner ; D )

Have a great day!~ TJ

 

 

Fridays Goals

gifts from the garden~arranged in a vase saved from a Mother's Day arrangement



 

Friday's Goals

1. raspberries~ freeze the 5 pints I bought on sale for $1 each at Randalls on Wednesday. (I rinse, air dry for a bit on paper towels and then spread out on a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet before popping in the freezer for and hour. Then into zip top gallon bags before placing back into the freezer. Some I might use the food saver on for longer storage.

2.  chicken stock~ strain and place chicken stock that I made in the slow cooker from

 carcass of  the baked chicken we had last week. Place into freezer containers and into

freezer. (The one chicken was eaten baked the first night, and then we used some meat in

 a green salad another night. Any bits of chicken that is strained out of the broth will be

a treat for the kitties. OK...and maybe Dollface too.)

3.  vacuum downstairs

4.  oregano, thyme and basil~ cut and prepare for drying. (I just lay herbs out on a flour sack towel lined baking sheet and cover with paper towels so that air circulates but no dust settles on them.)

5. tackle kitchen hotspots~ the table and windowsill by the back door become a catchall for things that need to go out in the garage,garden or recycling bin. ugh...

6.  bathe Dollface~ so `tinky toes can become twinkly toes! (did I hear a puppy "ugh"?)

~bonus (if I can get to it project(s)~

*misc. sewing/mending

    

 

 

To Do's & Ta Da's for the Week of November 4, 2012

This past week I got a little off track. Since hubby is home all the time now, I haven't found a good "flow". The routines I had going before he went in the hospital have been wiped off the map and the best I can come up with now is just to take each moment as it comes.

The things I hope to accomplish this upcoming week are many of the things that were on my list last week (and the week before) but since none of them are life or death, I hold on to my plans loosely. They will get done. Eventually.

To Do List (for the upcoming week) 

1)  In the Craft Room~ tackle some paper craft projects with the upcoming Christmas holidays in mind. Again, I did not get to this but I'm not scratching it off my list.

2)  In My Etsy Shop~ List an average of one item at least every other day. Same for this one /:
 
3)  In the Kitchen~ straighten out the pantry (how does it get SO out of control?!) I tackled two shelves but since I did stocking up this week at the grocery store, it is even more out of control than it was when I put this on my to do list.

4)  In the Sewing Room~ work on some sewing projects that need to be finished. Do I really even need to say it? The mere fact it has been carried over says it all.

5)  In the "Gym"~  get back on my exercise program by doing something for thirty minutes daily.

Ta Da List (things accomplished from last week)

 

 





1)  In the Garden~ *Pot up my three new succulents (one of which I got for half price since part of it had died off. I find that many times if a product has a bit of damage or is less than perfect, the store will give me a discount. Usually at least 10% but sometimes much more. All you have to do is ask!

{This is the sad little plant that I got for half price. You can see the shriveled up dead part. I'm happy to report it's doing well in it's new home!} 

 I also have three African violets that have been in desperate need of repotting for months!
*Plant more seeds. Flowers & veggies.

2)  In the Craft Room~ tackle some paper craft projects with the upcoming Christmas holidays in mind

3)  In My Etsy Shop~ List an average of one item at least every other day
 
4)  In the Kitchen~ straighten out the pantry (how does it get SO out of control?!) *

5)  In the Sewing Room~ work on some sewing projects that need to be finished.

6)  The Stockpile~ focus on more bulk purchases for our food stockpile rather than buying smaller quantities of items that can easily be stored. (Sam's, here I come!) This is ongoing.   

Ordering My Ordinary Days

Oh, so much has happened since I last posted here. What a difference a day can make in the direction our lives flow.
 My sweetheart suffered a stroke recently and spent the better part of a month in the hospital. After an emergency stent operation in his carodit artery and many days of in patient occupational and physical therapy, I am happy to say he is at home recuperating well. He has no feeling in his left side but does have use of his extremities so he is able to walk and has some use of his left hand (with struggle and frustration).
Needless to say, it has brought on some changes to our day to day routines and dealings but I still feel we are oh so blessed regardless of all that has happened. After all, things could be worse.

Count your blessings, name them one by one...

And I am blessed to be able to be at home to help him when he needs it. Cook our meals, tend our home and just be together.

But there are moments that happen where the loss of control over certain aspects of life slap us in the face just as hard reality so often does. And we move on.

Because of this, I have been trying to embrace those things that I can control: groceries (and the budgeting of), my little garden (that I continue to struggle to make happen), frugality (more important now than ever since we're not sure if hubby will be able to go back to work) and other household happenings. Doing these things seem more important to me now (even though they have always been important to me). I guess because it's familiar and it comforts me to know that they are still there for me. The ordinary things in my ordinary days. 

A few "comforting" things I've done this past week:

* planted more mint, lavender, parsley, zinnia, cilantro, dill, nasturtium, English daisy, chamomile and viola seeds. (I had tried with these seeds a few months back and had no luck, with the exception of parsley, mint and lavender plants that took but are struggling.) I'm going to experiment and see if they will sprout and do better with cooler months coming. It's soo hot here in the summer months! I also planted Table Queen squash, pumpkin and cantaloupe seeds for the first time ever! I'm curious to see what will come of them.

* made a conscious effort to use up leftovers before they went bad. I used up leftover steak to make hubby steak and eggs for breakfast one morning and a second dinner (yes, one steak lasted him three meals!). Took all the stale bread in the fridge & freezer & made my standby bread pudding (that recipe is so forgiving!) also incorporating two cups of applesauce that my DD had lost interest in (in place of the apples). Made french toast out of a few slices of day old homemade french bread for one of our breakfasts. Pulled out some pear sauce that I made a couple of years back from pears off our tree and froze for a yummy ice cream topping! (love my FoodSaver!)

* began the new habit of adding a couple of capfuls of bleach to my dishwater to help prevent colds, flu & other contagious, icky things. (our dishwasher is broken, whahhhhh! ) ':

* made a couple of loaves of french bread and one loaf of oatmeal bread. (Which wouldn't happen without my trusty breadmaker~just being honest.)

I'm sure there's more that I can't think or right now, but while I'm at it I'll make my "to do" list for the upcoming week for the projects that have been floating around in my mind...

* tackle some paper craft projects with the upcoming Christmas holidays in mind

* straighten out the pantry (how does it get SO out of control?!)

* work on some sewing projects that need to be finished.

* continue to forage in the freezer and pantry for items I can use to make meals, snacks & treats But this is ongoing...

* focus on more bulk purchases for our food stockpile rather than buying smaller quantities of items that can easily be stored. (Sam's, here I come!)

Thanks for stopping by!

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I'm Trashing My Home Management Binder!

I was just commenting to hubby yesterday that this year is whizzing by so fast! I know it's cliche' but time does fly when you're having fun! And I have been enjoying life as it comes my way.
Along with that, I have to be honest, I have not kept up at all with my plans to scrapbook, exercise and blog daily as I had planned and that has giving me that nagging feeling of failure. How can such little things plague us with such BIG guilt, like a tiny gnat that buzzes around us relentlessly?
Well, I will say that when I ran across this lady's blog post , I felt sooo much better about myself. Because no matter how I've tried (and I have tried and tried again! All the time I've spent trying to create the "perfect system" could have been better spent actually accomplishing something that needed to get done, when all it ultimately accomplished was more mother guilt...why, WHY do we do this to ourselves?!) to organize myself by creating schedules, binders, routines, etc., etc. I just seem to fail miserably (there's that "f" word again.). And it's because life just doesn't neatly unfurl itself on a daily basis. And I'm not highly energetic. But I do get things done that need to get done. Because of a little list I make most days of the important things that need to get done in a day. Usually no more than 5-6 things that need to be accomplished in a day. And everything else can land where it may. AND, if something on that itty bitty list doesn't get done, it goes on the next days list. Simple. Easy. And it works for me. Guiltlessly.
So, thank you "Ivory" for letting me see that there are other "lazy" ladies out there like me, rather than the legions of binder making, Fly Lady routine following women (who do so with military precision) that I run across online all to often. Don't get me wrong here, I absolutely admire those people that can keep to a schedule and have amazing household binders, otherwise I wouldn't have tried so long to be like them. It just doesn't work for me.
Thank you for setting me free!