Cleaning up the house.

So, for those who know me, or have been to my house, you will know I am not a natural housekeeper, but any stretch of the imagination. The only people who would enter my house and think it was organized are hoarders. But that is something I want to change.

 (Not my house, but very similar)

 I have tried before, time and time again to be a better housekeeper. And I have failed, time and time again. It never seems to stick, and I never get the whole house clean. It's frustrating, and terrifying. Looking at the mess ahead is daunting and drains me.

 But this year I am trying something different. Something that I hope will make things easier, and so far it has.

 Instead of making big long lists of what I need to do that make my want to cry, I am taking it one room at a time.

 Starting the first week of January, I picked one room a week, scheduled them ahead of time, then broke down the individual rooms into 5 tasks, one per week day. This takes them one at a time, leaves time each day for fun, other chores and sleep. And it is working!

 Week One was our office, and it's filled chest high closet. Now done and stayed clean for 3 weeks!

 Week Two was our bedroom, which gets messy easily, but with the cleaning up work I did, I can get it picture perfect within 5 minutes.

 Week 3 is our front room/dinning room and little hall, which is well on it's way to being done.  Major changes, it;s working so well.

 I also took care of our bathroom right after Christmas in a one day push. That means I have the kitchen, laundry room/half bath, kids room and the shed outside to finish up, then, by the end of February the house should be done. That way I can spend spring doing the same with my disaster of a yard.

 I think this is really going to work, I am energized and excited to get the work done. There is no overwhelming weight when I think about it! I can't wait to have a home that looks like the middle class version of Home and Garden! :)

Recipie One: Belvita-Like Breakfast Cookies

Sorry, I know this was supposed to come last week but things got a little busy and I could not post it. But I have decided what I want to post first.

 So, I got a coupon awhile back for Belvita Breakfast Biscuits, they were AMAZING! But too expensive. I want to try to make something on my own. So after scouting a few recipes on-line and do a little altering I settles on this one!

Now this pic is much prettier than mine turned out, but I wanted a nice neat pic, not a "my kids helped themselves" pic.

 What you need:

2 cups Flour
1 Cup Sugar
2 Cups Oats
1 1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt
8 T. (1 stick) Butter or Margerine
1 T. Honey (or Golden Syrup if you have European foods)
1 T. HOT water
1/2 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Cinnamon
1/2 t. Ginger


Preheat your oven to 350 Degrees F.

 Mix water, honey, butter and yogurt in a sauce pan, melt together on low to medium heat, add baking soda once melted, stir.  Mix remaining dry ingredients in separate bowl, added melted mixture and stir.

 Make small balls (it's kind of sticky) and place 1 inch apart on a greased cookie sheet, flatten with a fork. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. (They come out a little soft but settle up while cooling)

 They are really tasty with tea (I like to do herbals, especially Blueberry), or other warm breakfasty drinks.

 So there it is, you might need to alter it to your tastes, but as they are they were a big hit in our house. The yogurt adds protein and the oats of course are very filling. It's a great pre-prepped meal for on the go or sitting at home.

I love to cook

Anyone who knows me knows that I love to cook,  I am one of those people who tosses in this and that and makes it all work out. Not to sound pompous, but it seems to work extremely well as a lot of people seem to like what I make.

So I have decided to start posting some of my favorite recipes on my blog for others to enjoy. So starting some time this week I will be posting weekly recipes, but I want to know what you guys want me to share, steak, biscuits, my award winning (no kidding) chilli, stew, roast, mashed or roast potatoes, chicken soup, ham soup, meatballs and gravy, etc..

So please let me know and I will get it posted for you guys!

Thankgiving, Christmas and everything else

So, I am writing this is response to a couple of friends who have posted their anti-Christmas music/shopping/spirit posts today and yesterday :P

 So I want to stand up for a different view point on the holiday jumble that comes this time each year.

 I am one of those who will be listening to Christmas music starting today. I am one who will be shopping as well. But let me explain why...

 I LOVE this time of year. Starting October 1st I am singing  "Most wonderful time of the year!" because it is! 3 months of awesomeness, good food, family time, awesome events, new experiences and just plain happy feelings.

 So yes, I listen to Christmas music come November 1st, not because I ignore Thanksgiving, it is one of my favorite holidays. It's because I LOVE Christmas music and would listen to it all year if I could, but Dan says no. It makes me happy, it inspires me. I have so many good memories connected to those songs, so many times with my family, all things I love to think on, and I want to create those same things for my kids. And to be honest, there is not enough time in 25 days to do that. So I take 55.

I shop now because I want to be doing the fun things in December. I want to go to parades and music programs. I want to watch the Star Trees light up and listen to carols, not slog through 30 minute lines for some toy that will be seeing Goodwill by next year. I shop now because I want to go pick and decorate my tree in December, I want to go for chilly walks to see the lights with my boys. I want to see their eyes light up with wonder, not space out do to boredom in the store.

 We celebrate Thanksgiving all through this, but the big day is the most important. We write what we are thankful for, we make turkeys and cook together, we laugh and play. We enjoy our time together. I don't do Black Friday or weekend, I don't like that level of commercialization. I spend it with the people I love. But I cannot do that if I leave my shopping and plans until December 1st. I am also one of the least stressed out people I know around the holidays, because I do what I love and don't try to do what everyone else is doing or saying they do.

 So the point to all this ranting? This November, when you hear someone listening to Christmas music, or gleefully singing along in the store, don't sigh or roll your eyes. They may just be like me, loving every last moment and getting as much as they can while they can. There are 310 other days in the year, less than 1/6th seems like very little to me.

Wishing

Spent a lot of today wishing about things.

 Wishing I had worked harder on my writing in school when I seemed to be at my most creative.

Wishing I had a big, beautiful kitchen so I had the space to do all the cooking and baking I want to do this time of year.

 Wishing I my kids enjoyed walking in the cold for hours so I could do that while it's daylight and gorgeous!

 But most of today was spent wishing I had seen how special a certain person could be to me sooner.

  See, I only just discovered just what a great friend this person is capable of being for me in the last year, more like the last few months. And I have treasured their  friendship.

 But now they are leaving, and wont be back for awhile. It's good for them, and I would never wish anything else for them, but I am going to miss them something terrible.

 And now I worry that when they get back they will have changed, or they might have liked being away so much that they go away again. And I wish I had been cultivating this friendship longer than I have been so it would be stronger and more developed at this point.

 So while I am extremely happy for them, and glad to see them doing what makes them happy... in my more selfish moments I am sad.

 Anyways...... life moves on.

Dark and down

Okay, so it has been brought to my attention (by all my loving and wonderful friends supporting me) that I have been post some pretty down things lately. Just want my friends to know that I am okay. I am in one of my funks.

 I was diagnosed with postpartum depression in 2007, though with a family history of it and with signs from my youth it was probably just postpartum manifestation of  long term issues. I went off the meds within a few months (with Doctor approval) because I can handle my funks without them and I would rather not use meds, get used to them and need heavier and heavier dose down the road.

 They usually come and go without much that people not living with me will notice.  But this last month was a little longer, with more swings  than usual and this last week it all compounded by stuff going on in a friendship.

 See, I have always had self esteem issues. And while my wonderful husband has help massively with body issues, I am still the sort of person who, when things go south in friendship or something, makes it all about how awkward or stupid I was. Sometimes still debating things years later when I can't sleep. I know, it's pointless and I am sure I am often wrong, but I do it.

 But the point in explaining that is when drama happened in this friendship, I let it get me way more down than it should, and it doesn't help that it was this week of all weeks, when I was in a funk.

 Short version, I am doing fine, having my moments but overall still a happy person, playing with my kids, laughing with my husband and not feeling so down all the time.

 But a big thank you to the family and friends who have reached out to me lately, letting me know I am loved and cared for and that I have people to turn to when I need them.  Just knowing you are there can make those lower moments so much easier to move past.  So thank you! :)

Random thoughts

Just felt like blogging today, but didn't really have a point. So I guess I will do a life update.

Vinny: Did fantastically in school, completing 1st grade and half of 2nd!  We are very proud of him. He also gave a fantastic talk in church this year. He is reading at a 2nd grade level and has been challenged by his teacher to start reading 3rd grade level books so he can learn more. We do scriptures every night, and Vinny reads his own verse each night with minimal help. He has been doing swim lessons again and is certainly improving, slowly but surely.

William: Is a jabber mouth, no shock given his family. He is getting better and better at expressing himself with words and actions instead of grunts and melt downs. He has also started lessons this year and he is doing EXTREMELY well compared to his brother at this age. He even got a new teacher today and started trusting her very quickly. Still not potty trained, but I am working on that more and more and we have progress!

Daniel: Got a new job within ODOT as a lead tech. It has been challenging but a very good learning experience and paves the way for the next steps. Other than that it's computer games, playing with the boys and spending time with me. He is not much for outside socialization.

Me: Plateaued on the weight, not gaining, but not loosing either. I would really like a bike but getting a working one cost a bit more than we have to spend right now. I have started writing again, and Dan is helping. We are working on some kids books right now and hope to have sent it to a publisher by the new year. YEEE! I am getting better at being a housewife as well, it's only been 8 years since I started it, but I think I might finally be getting the hang of this! 

Also, for those who have not heard me talking about church callings before, Christmas 2011 I was called to be the music director in RS. If you didn't know, I have no musical inclination and cannot even read music. It was a challenge, but I have been getting more confident and much better at it these last few months. It's been interesting to see how much I have been able to learn. I can now understand music enough to get the general flow of the melody by reading the notes, I am not getting the notes right but I get the spacing, high/low and speed pretty well without help. Major improvement for only 18 months.

 Anyways, that's a bit of an update on our little family.