This is the time of year when I look to simplify and streamline my life.  Of course I got a stack of this type of book out from our local library.  Yes, that’s my personality… if one is good then twelve is better… at least when it comes to books. 

Well this one was definitely [...]]]>

This is the time of year when I look to simplify and streamline my life.  Of course I got a stack of this type of book out from our local library.  Yes, that’s my personality… if one is good then twelve is better… at least when it comes to books. 

Well this one was definitely the best of the bunch.  So far, it has helped me to deal with my email inbox and organize my busy life a bit more.  If you’d like a taste, you can check out his free ebook called, Thriving on Less.  Enjoy!!!

I really am feeling a lack of success today, so I probably need to write this list more than ever. 

My Small Successes for this past week:

1- I ground up a whole bunch of whole wheat this morning with my grain mill.  I have been a total slug with baking for my [...]]]>

I really am feeling a lack of success today, so I probably need to write this list more than ever. 

My Small Successes for this past week:

1- I ground up a whole bunch of whole wheat this morning with my grain mill.  I have been a total slug with baking for my family lately.  This leads to success #2…

2- I baked a couple of dozen whole wheat pumpkin ginger muffins for my family this morning.

3- I decluttered the main section of my house and am working diligently to keep it that way, despite not feeling up to par.

Check out more small success stories over at Faith and Family…

Crystal over at Biblical Womanhood has started a “Spring Cleaning for Normal People” challenge.  She’s taking it at a nice pace – a week to do each assignment.  Frankly that is a great pace for me right now.  We’ve got so much on our plate right now, but I am desperate to get [...]]]>

Crystal over at Biblical Womanhood has started a “Spring Cleaning for Normal People” challenge.  She’s taking it at a nice pace – a week to do each assignment.  Frankly that is a great pace for me right now.  We’ve got so much on our plate right now, but I am desperate to get this place into better shape.

Well today I made some real progress.  I wish that I had taken some pictures.  I promise to take some before and after pictures for the upcoming challenges.

Today, I worked on decluttering the surfaces in the main section of my home (not the bedrooms or the office).  This included:

- Recycling many of the magazines and catalogs in my overflowing bathroom reading basket

- Putting the end of the Christmas decorations up in the attic

- Cleaning off my desk in the family room

- Putting the stray medicine bottles (that littered our notch in the kitchen) back into the medicine chest

- Dead-heading the plants/flowers that are in my bay windows

- Putting books back on the appropriate shelves 

- Packing up unloved knick-knacks

- Hanging pictures (I just got a beautiful print of “The Angelus” by Millet)

It’s amazing what a difference it made.  My plan is to continue the process in the bedrooms and the office.  Boy, oh boy, the office is a mess.  Those pictures will be worth looking at when I conquer that disaster.

I saw this over at Ten kids and a dog and thought that it would be great for lifting my spirits during these dark, cold days of winter. Thanks Joann!!!  You can check out more over at Faith & Family Live!

Here’s my list:

1-  Getting back on track with formal school work this week [...]]]>

I saw this over at Ten kids and a dog and thought that it would be great for lifting my spirits during these dark, cold days of winter. Thanks Joann!!!  You can check out more over at Faith & Family Live!

Here’s my list:

1-  Getting back on track with formal school work this week after an extended layoff due to my husband’s being on vacation so much over the last six weeks.

2-  Exercising three out of the last five days even though I have been feeling a bit under the weather.

3-  Meal planning for this week.  When my husband is home, he enjoys doing most of the cooking.  Really, he enjoys it!!! I’m not making it up.   So I was having trouble getting myself back into “Betty Crocker” mode.  But Praise God, I did plan my menus and grocery shop within my budget ($120 per week) this week.

This afternoon, “the Littles” (Lily and Peter) and I had some fun in the kitchen making Cranberry Apple Muffins.  This is a new recipe for me that I found at allrecipes.com through a google search.  I modified the recipe with Whole wheat flour (hard white wheat) and sucanat (a type of raw [...]]]>

This afternoon, “the Littles” (Lily and Peter) and I had some fun in the kitchen making Cranberry Apple Muffins.  This is a new recipe for me that I found at allrecipes.com through a google search.  I modified the recipe with Whole wheat flour (hard white wheat) and sucanat (a type of raw sugar).  I must admit that sometimes having the children help with my baking, etc. can make the kitchen feel a bit overcrowded.  However, it does give me the chance to work on that rare and wonderful virtue called PATIENCE!!!

Cranberry Apple Muffins

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups shredded peeled apples
• 1 1/3 cups sugar (I used sucanat)
• 1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour – hard white)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

In a bowl, combine apples and sugar; let stand for 10 minutes. Add cranberries, carrots, nuts, eggs and oil; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, coriander if desired and salt; stir into apple mixture just until moistened. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.

Bake at 375 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

The Pledge

I, Heather, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of “new” manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 6 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that [...]]]>

The Pledge

I, Heather, pledge that I shall abstain from the purchase of “new” manufactured items of clothing, for the period of 6 months. I pledge that I shall refashion, renovate, recycle preloved items for myself with my own hands in fabric, yarn or other medium for the term of my contract. I pledge that I will share the love and post a photo of my refashioned, renovoted, recycled, crafted or created item of clothing on the Wardrobe Refashion blog, so that others may share the joy that thy thriftiness brings! 

The Rules

• 1.  No buying new! (handmade is excepted; So this allows for Etsy purchases etc!!) All clothing must be Recycled, Renovated, Preloved or Thrifted, or Handmade only for the term. Employment related and special needs clothing (ie sports, school), shoes and undies are excepted from the rules, although you are encouraged to have a go at making these.

• 2.  In extreme circumstances, maybe a special event, or the worlds greatest and most amazing never to be repeated sale that you simply can not pass up, you may use the Get out of Refashionista Jail Free card. You are able to use this card once during the 2 month part of your contract; ie 1 for 2 months, 2 for 4 months etc. Of course you need to fess up on the blog and display the button!

• 3.  You must post on the blog at least once a week to let the community know what you’ve been up to. This will not only give you brag points, but inspire and encorouge others! Of course you need to display the button on your blog and have copied the pledge in at least one post, and provide a link to your pledge under the button.

• 4.  You need to be honest and admit when you’ve fallen off the Refashionista Wagon! Go directly to Refashionista Jail, do not pass GO and do not collect $200! Apply for parole once there.

Yesterday we had a fun afternoon picking over-priced apples (3 bushels worth) to make lots of homemade applesauce.  Yum!!!

Peter helping Dad with the first batch of applesauce…

OK, I admit it.  The last couple of months have been a wonderfully crazy blur, full of many blessed events (hence the reason that I have been blogging so infrequently and also the reason that I encouraged you to add me to your Blogreader —Bloglines is my personal favorite).  While wonderful, these last few [...]]]>

OK, I admit it.  The last couple of months have been a wonderfully crazy blur, full of many blessed events (hence the reason that I have been blogging so infrequently and also the reason that I encouraged you to add me to your Blogreader —Bloglines is my personal favorite).  While wonderful, these last few months have left me feeling a bit out of sorts with our lack of a real daily schedule and our overstuffed house, which never seems to stay picked up for more than 5 minutes!!!  In fact I feel as if my head has been spinning and in danger of falling off altogether!!!

Needless to say, I really needed this vacation!!!  Vermont is always a place where I find inspiration and peace.  Being here in God’s beautiful nature show always makes me long for simplicity and order in my life and the life of my family.  Being among the trees and on the lake seem to give me clarity of vision that I can lose at home, if I’m not careful.

Having just recently finished Shopping for Time, I have been enjoying “sitting at Jesus’ feet” these last three or four mornings before my family has arisen from their blessed slumber.  This has meant getting up at 6 a.m. while on vacation (I know, I know, I can hear you groaning!!!).  I consider this preparation for when I get home and push up my wake up time to 5 a.m. (Now I hear you really moaning!!!).  This time away and my early mornings spent at Jesus’ feet have made my path clear to me.

Like it or not, 5 a.m. is a necessary evil.  It is the only way that I can have my quiet time, get my housework back on track, and still find time for exercise which is a must for getting off / reducing my blood pressure medication.  These are all things that I used to do thanks to Flylady but have lost sight of in the recent past.  I am grateful for the Control Journal that I put together a while back which makes it easier to get back on the straight and narrow. 

I have spent a couple of hours over the last few days working on a schedule to fulfill all my goals.  I know it will need some tweaking and I will need some patience as I put the plan into action.  Something that I have been learning over these last several months is that when I stumble, I need to just brush myself off and begin again.  Sometimes this means asking the Lord’s forgiveness and forgiving myself.  But when all is said and done, I need to get up and try again (preferably without beating myself up too severely).  So in this spirit I continue this blessed journey.  Now without further adieu, here it is:

Morning Routine 

5 am     Get up

            Make bed

            Go to bathroom

            Vitamins/Medication

            SITTING AT JESUS’ FEET

5:45     Brush teeth

            Apply moisturizer

            Dress

            Hair

            Make-up

6:00     Empty dishwasher, if necessary

            Breakfast, newspaper

            Diet Center food planning

            Daily planning, check calendar, update “to do” list, plan day/errands/goals

            Menu planning, grocery shopping planning

            Puzzles, clip for later

7:00     Defrost meat for dinner, dinner prep

            Breakfast prep for children (CHILDREN”S BREAKFAST at 7:30)

            Put out hotspots

            Wash breakfast dishes

            Shine sink

            27 Fling Boogie, time permitting

7:30     Walk, while children have Breakfast

8:00     Heather & children: Daily jobs

Monday: Change sheets, vacuum and dust bedrooms

Tuesday:  Dust downstairs, vacuum upstairs hallway, vacuum thoroughly downstairs

Wednesday:  Blue bathroom

Thursday:  Upstairs bathroom

Friday:  Kitchen

Daily: 27 Fling Boogie and Zone work, time permitting

8:30     Children’s Individual Chores while I check email, read, blog, correspondence

9:30     Rosary & Beginner’s Bible

10:00   Basic School plan with children

12 pm  Lunch prep

12:30   Lunch

I ask for your prayers as I put this into action next week.