Thursday Three

Three music albums (of many) I never tire of:

Yo-Yo Ma Obrigado Brazil

Paul Simon Rhythm of the Saints

The Big Chill Soundtrack

Wordless Wednesday

I Work My Magic!

Yeah, that's right, it was all me. I am the one who prompted the sun coming out. Take a look below at the first post from last night! I pasted the sun on my monitor, told the rain, rain to go away...then alakazam! Out pops the sun. It's so nice everyone I see appears happy, excited summer finally made it! Whewhoo...now I need to go so I can enjoy it again!

Tackling It Tuesday

Let me dig in to the work pile here:

Paperwork: I went through 3 trash bags (oh I mean the biiiiiig yard bags) full of paperwork recently. Yuck and whew. I still have one more bag to go, my filing cabinet to reorganize, and all the miscellaneous stuff that somehow decided to mingle with the papers put away. Then the papers will be manageable. Boy I cannot wait for that to be in place! (Being a business major and all...)

Laundry: Back to being in order again. I don't have to catch anything up at this point.

Craft closet: Organize all pictures, scrapbook accessories, and sewing supplies.

Bedroom: Finally hang the pictures in there.

Floors: Sweep, Vacuum, Mop. Somehow the kids/guest bathroom still smells like a gas station bathroom (and I SWEAR I didn't hang a cardboard tree in there to add to the ambiance)!

Fish tank: Clean the goobs and "gold" water from the tank of poor fat ol' Nemo the goldfish.

Garage: Do I really have to go there? OK - so it is a project that needs some kick in the pants to get going. The bikes, skis, and tools need to be hung, food storage organized, shoes put away, tools organized, and the floor swept. Then - ta da! A better entrance area for the guests...Who thought of putting the front door in the garage? Good thing it's just a rental. I would change the location of the door ASAP if we owned the place - and what a hassle that would be!

So this is the list for the week. What kind of projects are you all working on?

Rain, Rain, Go Away...Sunny Days Come Here to Stay!

Yes, it is 11:00 pm. Where I live, the sun should just be setting...but it's rain, rain, rain all the time and the clouds make it dim and dark not to mention depressing. Here is a picture I posted on my desktop for a little bit of comfort - not warm but at least I can "see the light":

Menu Planning Monday

Monday night: Herbed Chicken (Crockpot)- recipe from my sister's MOPS cookbook, rice, salad, apple juice
Tuesday night: "Hamburger helper" taco style with noodles, veggie mix, peaches
Wednesday night: Cheese quesadillas with salsa and sour cream, veggie mix, pears
Thursday night: Breakfast for dinner - maple sausage patties, pancakes, eggs, chocolate milk, fruit mix
Friday night: Spaghetti night (for real this time), garlic bread, broccoli trees, fruit parfaits
Saturday night: Simple Salmon Chowder, homemade rolls, side salad, Homemade Apple Crumble
Sunday night: Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Casserole, green beans, apple juice

Sunday Sampler

Today we heard about family preparedness. A start is to prepare a 72-hour kit and include supplies for each family member. A counselor told us he has 7 backpacks, one for each family member, hanging in his garage awaiting any pending disaster. We are starting our 72-hour kits tomorrow. Anyone interested in a 72-hour kit can look at these links:

• lds.org (Basic home storage information - the church tells us to aim for a 3-month supply at first.)




• about.com (72-hour kit ideas.)




• geocities.com (72-hour kit monthly addition checklist.)




• avertdisasters.com (72-hour kit weekly addition checklist.)




• peaceandcarrots.com (A list of sites to assist in family preparation.)
  

Another part of being prepared is to get our finances in order and to try to stay debt-free. A goal we strive for and have since we were first married! Financial freedom seems so refreshing. Here are a few ideas and goals we look into:

• daveramsey.com Get out of debt "at gazelle speed" and control your money habits.




• lds.org A handy budget worksheet.




• lds.org A debt-elimination calendar (sample) that we are using.




• paidtwice.com Snow flaking it - paying debt down with extra funds acquired.




• frugalliving.com Ideas to live within your means.
  

I know being prepared is important. I realize this everyday I don't prepare for the next. If things are not in order and ready as they can be, I drag all day long and suffer. So does the rest of the family. It is important to prepare our own way for help in a disaster. We should not think to depend on a neighbor (they need to meet their own needs) nor the government...ha! While we have a small supply in our house, I feel it necessary to follow further steps to keep it organized and readily available for the family. I mean, what if I run out of diapers for the baby... now that would be tragic! No - seriously. Basic needs. That is the ticket to start of with. Cover our basic needs first. Good luck and God speed if you plan to make this your goal as well.

Silly Saturday

The Brain Massager...

"Alleviate stress, tension and help soothe that migraine with our Brain Spa Head Massager. It’s like having your very own Masseuse."

Faith Building Friday

My son loves a particular book in the Bible. He looks to make sure he has the bible so he can look at that book every Sunday. It really should not surprise me as he is familiar with the name. Isaiah is a complicated book with lots of symbolism, but it is also the name of one of his favorite cousins. So, on that note, I post an excerpt of scripture from Isaiah:

Adversity often makes us more receptive to the promptings of the Spirit. And we “shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of [us] and shall heal [us]” (Isaiah 19:22). When we trust in the Lord during adversity, we open the door to His strengthening and healing power.

Thursday Three (oops a day late):0)

Three handbags I absolutely adore:

This loveley Japanese Wrist Bag can be seen here:

This unique Keeta Collection messenger bag is waaaay cute. Look if you want at this site:

I love this adorable bird purse as well:

Wordless Wednesday - The Sign Says it All!

Tackling It Tuesday

Today was a good day to tackle some yucks lying around the house.

Three things I worked on today:

1. Clean all floors. As I found the baby searching for snacks on the kitchen floor I thought this might be a good task to get to today! Cringe Sweep, mop, vacuum all floors (except the garage that is another project in itself).


2. Scrub the bathrooms. Children make the bathroom smell like urine. Guests don't like coming to my home and using the "gas station" toilet. Bleach the toilet, clean the sink, tub, heater and mirrors.


3. Finish big laundry. Those down quilts (yes we are still using the down quilts - sucks to be in the cold rain day in and day out..sun come out, come out wherever you are!) pillows and blankets need to be cleaned too! They waited patiently for far too long. The dust bunnies threw a few parties and unleashed their sneezing powder all over so I need a box of tissues next to me while I do laundry lately. Finish all blankets, pillows, robes, and quilts today.

Of course these are not all I worked on - I did pick up things in the garage a bit. Again, that is a monumental task for another day.

Note: Saturday and Sunday were spent visiting family (a good 3 hour drive turned 5 hours with 2 children and a baby along)! So here are some quips for those days since I wasn't around to blog:

Silly Saturday:

I don't know if I could be a talented artist and eat my food (while I imagine it with personality and faces attached)?!



Sunday Sampler:

Music can touch our hearts and send a prayer of thought like no other. Hymns are especially important to me because they lift me up when I am in my deepest moments of grief, they make me tender when I am full of pride, and they can keep me from temptation. Here is a favorite of mine:




I hope your evening is well and you are blessed with a piece of sunshine today!

Menu Planning Monday

So here is my first session of Menu Monday...

Tonight we had salmon fillet with garlic salt and olive oil on one fillet and Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic with olive oil on the other fillet...steamed rice with Parmesan, parsley and oregano seasoning and fresh vegetable medley. We also ate for the first time in forever on a tablecloth. It felt like we were eating at a fancy restaurant and Jesse said someday Brandon is going to take some girl out and have to spend $60 to get food that tastes this good! (Such a smooth operator!)

Tuesday night we will have Cheese Puffs and Crab Rangoons with cauliflower, leftover rice and apples with yogurt dip for dessert. These were okay but a bit greasy (hmmm fried equals greasy) and I made them too big so they were overwhelming. They had a good flavor, though. I forgot to serve the rice (oops).

Wednesday will be Salmon Pasta Salad, bread sticks, green salad and apple juice.

Thursday on menu is Chicken Pot Pie with mandarin orange jell-o for dessert.

Friday night will be spaghetti night with garlic bread, zucchini slices and peach cobbler for dessert.

Saturday night is sushi night for me and leftovers for the family :0)!

Sunday night will be Crock-pot Italian Chicken, green bean and melon mix.

Yum-0!

Thursday Three

Three Children I Truly Love!

1. B-man and his curiousness, his dramatic inclination, and his absolutely silly giggles.

2. The Little Princess and her dainty ways, her love of anything pink, and her desire to make everyone happy.

3. T-baby and his adorable grins, his powerful red-orange hair, and his sweet loving cuddles.

Blog Organization

Today I am starting an every-day-of-the-week blog topic:

Thursday Three
Faith Growing Friday
Silly Saturday
Sunday Sampler
Menu Planning Monday
Tackling It Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday

**I am taking this idea from a blog I connected to but I cannot find the blog to reference. :0(

A Reality Check (War and Family)

I was looking around the web at crafty sites today and ventured into this sweet woman's blog called My Longest Year. Her post titled Somber Morning touched my heart and gave me just a glimpse at what families of deployed military go through. The war is still carrying on and families today continue to go through these roller coasters of emotion. The men and women overseas are doing their duty and I am thankful for their service.

God Bless the dedicated soldier!

Darrel and His Horn Become Famous (Again)!

Jesse's Dad played an elegant piece of music as the guest soloist for the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra [edit: this post sat in my draft files and I didn't realize it; this performance was on March the 29th and I thought it important to still send a note of bravo for him!]. It was fun seeing him perform. We could see him just behind the curtain as he waited and he was hopping around stretching out before he came out to play...so cute! Patti was sentimental as were we while he performed and he played so well the crowd stood up for a standing ovation when he was finished. His face was posted all over the newspaper and several other places around town before he performed. Darrel played wonderfully and we are so proud of him! He had a few articles written about him:

http://dwb.adn.com/life/arts/tab/story/9278992p-9193799c.html

http://www.adn.com/arts/story/353504.html

http://www.anchoragesymphony.org/news%20releases/Symphony%20News%20Release%20-%20Surprises%20and%20Delights.pdf

http://radio.weblogs.com/0109493/2008/03/30.html