Forgotten Weekends

If I can't remember the weekend, can I just say it was productive and go with that?  Let's see.

My sister did come over on Friday evening and we did knit.  She jammed through a pair of boot toppers (how cute are they), while I continued to plug away at my sweater.  This is the same sister who dabbles in just about everything and runs Design Tulip over on Etsy.

I did manage to work on a layout for Challenge One of the Super Stash Busters; it's almost finished.  I also tackled a daily challenge to sort through a container.  I chose an overflowing, hard to pick through, jar of tags.  The container was one I needed to go through, and was on my "rethink it" list.  I now have a better solution and a small pile to add to the kindergartner's box.

I caught up on posting for my #100HappyDays.  I read up on my Phone Photography Project lessons and have been keeping an eye out for pictures.  I'm finding things I took previously, for a different lesson, apply to a current lesson which has been interesting how many ways you can see one photo.

Painting is now finished in all the kids' bedrooms.  I started hauling some of the tools and stuff out of the hallway and back to where it belongs.  I had started buying new curtains, but couldn't seem to find thermal curtains in white.  That quest took up a huge chunk of my Sunday.  I did come out victorious, at the last stop.  Naturally.

I started sorting through, and emptying boxes in my younger boys' room.  Happily the boxes are gone in there, but the desk is covered with things to find places for, or things that will go on their shelves, once they are hung.  And the pile of stuff for cataloging and giving away has become a mountain on my living room couch and floor.

Hubby hung all the curtains and two of the three bedrooms shelves last night.  My daughter and 15 y.o. son need to finish their unpacking now that their rooms are complete.  I refuse to go into the start of school next week with boxes of crap in their rooms.  Once school starts those boxes won't move and more crap will just pile around them.  Not gonna happen.

So I guess it was a pretty decent weekend in the productivity department.

Happy Tuesday,

Slumps on Friday and Food for the Weekend

I have determined I'm in a bit of a slump.  I'm unmotivated to do much of anything this week.  I pushed around some paper on my work desk.  I printed off my challenges in the Super Stash Busters class, read one and watched all the video content, but haven't managed to pull out photos and dig in.  I've taken a few shots for the lessons in the Phone Photography Project and uploaded them.  I even picked up my cross-stitch, but couldn't convince myself to put in a even a stitch.  

While there's certainly nothing wrong with a slump. . .slumps can be good, sort of rejuvenating, depending on what you do with them.  I, myself, can't let a slump go on for long because it tends to leach into other areas of my life - like cooking and cleaning.  

I have, however, had no difficulty in Pinning this week.  Actually, during these types of hiccups in creativity, I seem to Pin at a faster rate.  I have also managed to cook through quite a few recipes in the last couple weeks with menus created from the I Can Cook That board.  I always enjoy moving things that are "keep worthy" to the I Cooked That board - aka my Pinterest Cookbook.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Gooey Cake - We love Gooey Cake since we discovered it a little over a year ago.  We've had traditional, pumpkin and now this one.  I'm pretty sure there is no such thing as a bad Gooey Cake.

Taco Lasagna - I liked this version that uses noodles instead of the usual tortillas.  Using no cook noodles would make it even faster to pull together.  The flavor was good.  Next time I think I'd like to add cilantro to the ricotta mixture and, maybe, refried beans to the meat mixture.

Ridiculously Easy Parmesan Butter Noodles - I made these to go on the side with the Brown Sugar Chicken.  I liked the lemon in the recipe, which is something I haven't seen in a Butter Noodle.  I didn't have basil on hand, or in the garden, so I used fresh parsley instead.  Worked great.

Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Chicken - These were sweet, like a teriyaki, but I could pick up the pineapple juice in it and it wasn't overly "soy."  I used boneless, skinless thighs, and that cut the cook time down.  Good and definitely a do-over for the cooler months.

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad - I had this on the menu because it was supposed to be hot on the day I had it slotted, and it was a no-cook recipe.  Turns out, the forecasted heat turned out to be rain.  I had picked up corn on the cob at three 3 for $1 and so I cooked it up and added that to the salad instead of frozen, but otherwise stuck to the recipe.  Lots of good flavor from the dressing and crunch from the peppers and lettuce.  Three of the six of us has seconds and there was still some left over.  One of these days my kids will either just eat what's in it, or I'll be able to chop it small enough they can't pick out the pieces they don't like.

My sister called and is in a knitting frame of mind.  Maybe she'll be able to help me end my slump.

Happy Friday,

Changes

The first of many changes this year will bring.  Gone will be the lavender walls she's had since she was seven or eight.  Gone are items from her younger days; baby dolls that were relegated to the closet shelf are now packed in the crawl space.  Princess artwork that was covered up years ago by "big girl" choices has been temporarily unearthed, but will either be covered by her own artwork or gone all together.  Medals, ribbons and trophies are packed away with instructions for me to decide what to do with them, "cause that's your thing, not mine."  

I'm try not to think.  

At Target, while shopping for school supplies, I tried not to think that this is my last trip with her for these things.  I did my best to brush off her comment, "and next year we'll be down there," as she pointed to the Dorm Room displays.

I'm trying to keep it together.

This year my girl will be a Senior in high school.  Looking at the start of school, I'm not sure what is more difficult, recalling the day I dropped her off at Kindergarten or looking at, this, her final year.  She's talking about when she leaves (her vocabulary is heavily dotted with "just one year"), scheduling campus visits and planning for "after."

From the moment you first hold your children, you're well aware this time is coming, but you get caught up in the raising and foundation building.  In the balancing, juggling, teaching and cleaning.  Before you blink, you're faced with the first of your babies balancing on the edge of the nest, poised for flight.  It's then you worry about the foundation you've laid all these years.  Is it strong enough?  Will it last?  Is it enough?

I'm trying to ignore the tears that gather and the cracking sounds that seem to be coming from an area around my heart, because her room changing is just the tip of the iceberg.

Happy Thursday,

We Are

• We They are learning how not to bump into wet walls
• We They are learning how to paint.  They've got three rooms to perfect it in.
• We are playing on "the hill"
• We are family
• We are starting campus visits
• We are might be a Bruin

Happy Wednesday,

Scratch the Itch and Peeks

So. . .my plans for cropping this past weekend . . .yeah, didn't so much happen.  I did hang out in the basement, but it was more to keep my sanity than for cropping.  We, or rather, my hubby and the kids are painting the kids' bedrooms.  I don't paint, but I'm called upon for decorating and arranging once the paint has dried.  My upstairs hall is filled, FILLED, with boxes and stuff from various kid-rooms and it's trickling down the stairs and puddling in my living room and dining room.  Not to mention the paint paraphernalia that is in my kitchen.  

Two of the three bedrooms are completed, but have yet to be fully unpacked and resettled, because finished rooms hold stuff from other rooms.  The third, and final, room was started last night.  Hopefully, they'll get it done today and we can start getting things back in their proper places.  I don't do well with clutter.  Let me repeat...I. DON'T. DO. WELL. WITH. CLUTTER.  I usually go into some weird, hyper version of doing my best to keep other rooms clutter free while such projects are undertaken.  That and stay away from the offensive areas.  Hence, my self-imposed confinement to the basement.

To add to the fun, Saturday morning I woke up with my body, or more specifically my skin, not liking something and have been doing my best not to scratch layers of skin from my body.  Not a clue what's causing it, as nothing has really changed.  But I'm at day four and ready to be over whatever this is.

I think distracting myself with some creative time is just what the doctor would order.  To that end, I'm looking forward to immersing myself in the August kits.  All the bright, lively colors.  Cute patterns - colorful hexagons, rainbow stripes, sweets and a wide variety of dots.  The fun embellishments - super cute layovers, sparkly buttons, clips, cards, tickets, stickers and more.  Yum.

I've got a bit of catching up to do because I may not have painted over the weekend, but my weekend was taken up with painting.  I've got photos to take/load for my Phone Photography Class, my Super Stash Busters class is up to challenge #2, and five days of #100HappyDays photo posting. . .so yeah.  A few things to get to.

Happy Tuesday,

#100HappyDays - Day 31

Day 31/100 - a HIGH, in July (the end no less) of 62 degrees, plus rain (a lot of rain) is a call for much rejoicing in my book.  (This is also a photo for the Phone Photography Project 2's lesson on Landscape.)

Be Happy.

Classes and Menus

Life was pretty good this week.  It rained. . .a lot.  It was (and still is) nice and cool - I had to pull on a lightweight hoodie and I even wore my slippers to keep my feet warm one day!  I wasn't so productive creatively speaking, though I did pick-up my embroidery a couple times, but I did finally remember to freeze some buttermilk before it turned.

I've been clicking away on Lessons in the Phone Photography Project 2 class which has been fun; the one above is from the Action lesson an is probably one of my favorites.  I like looking for the current lesson as I go through my day.  There has only been one lesson I just haven't submitted anything for yet and that was Silhouettes.  Maybe because it was too hot to capture an into-the-light-photo, and now it's too grey to get a silhouette.  I'll get one yet though.  Below are two more - one for Vantage Point and the other for Lines.

Yesterday Super Stash Busters started.  After the first class, I heard there were plans in the work for another and was waiting with credit card in hand.  Instead, I ended up winning a seat!  I've got my first Challenge printed out and hope to work on it over the weekend.

I did all my menu planning from Pinterest again this week.  Now, if I could only do the same with some of my other boards, like I Can Do That or Scrappin Ideas.  At the very least I should go through and do a clean-out.  If you're looking for some-been-there-cooked-that recipes that are also good to get you back to crafting this weekend, check these out:

Coconut Limeade Slushy - Start your night or bring it with you while you craft.  I made this Slushy and was in love.  It's light and cool with a nice lime flavor.  After my first sip, I decided I'd make it again and substitute in Cherry Vodka for the Coconut Rum.  Yum.

BLT Macaroni Salad - I made this as a side for a Flank Steak I grilled up on Monday.  I used shell pasta because that's what I had on hand, but shells never hold up well for me - they like to nest and tear.  This would be great as main dish with the left over flank steak (if we'd had any) or with rotisserie chicken.

No-Cook Coconut Pie - A super simple, no heat required dessert that was really, really good.  I used French Vanilla (had it on hand) pudding instead of plain vanilla.  I made my crust instead of using a store bought.  The only thing I will do different next time is a bit more coconut extract.  I'm not sure if it was the french vanilla I used that maybe was more heavy on the vanilla, or just a lighter taste of coconut to begin with.  I had no complaints though.

Chorizo Sweet Potato Skillet - Because of the cooler weather that was forecast for this week I was able to pick recipes I would not normally do during the summer - skillet meals.  I love skillet meals because they're all in one - a side salad or bread could be added.  This one intrigued me with the sweet potatoes (we love sweet potatoes.)  It was great!  Just the right amount of heat.  We used the leftovers the next day to make quesadillas.  The recipe calls for either green or red salsa - I had red, but I'll give green a try next time.

Mango Black Bean Chicken Quinoa Bowls - This was delicious.  I offered it two ways - in a burrito or just in a bowl; I was the only bowl-taker.  It would also be great as the filling for a lettuce wrap.  It was light and fresh and the lime and olive oil was just enough to keep it from being dry.  To keep the heat out of the kitchen use rotisserie chicken and toss it with chili powder and cumin.

Crock-Pot Hawaiian Sandwiches - I love my slow cooker, I just need to use it more in the summer - even though it does produce a bit of heat in the kitchen, at least I'm not standing over it.  These were a good, no effort meal.  Next time I'll cook it a little less - my slow cooker seems to run to the hot side and I'm constantly adjusting my cook times, so the flavor of ham had cooked out.  Besides adjusting the time, I might get the ham sliced a bit thicker.  It would be a good way to use up holiday ham, too.  I used fresh pineapple and just sliced it thin.  I've started making my own hamburger buns, thanks to the recipe I found in The Homemade Pantry and next time I might butter and toast them.

Skillet Cheesy Chili Mac - Yep, another skillet meal.  A cheesy goodness all-in-one skillet meal; love those.  I had kids who don't usually take seconds, taking seconds.  It fed the six of us, plus seconds and I still have leftovers - probably for one person, but it made plenty.  Crusty bread on the side would complete it.

I'm not having to cook dinner today, so after a brief tidy of the house, my plan is to scrapbook.  If you've got plans, crafty ones (maybe you're taking the Super Stash Busters class) or not, this weekend, any of those meals would free you up to get back to whatever you're doing.  Don't forget the cocktail.

Happy Friday,