My New Favorite Toy: Snipping Tool

Ben just showed me this the other day.  In Microsoft Windows 7, there’s a program called Snipping Tool.

Snipping Tool allows you to copy images from your screen and paste them into whatever program you’re using.  Its uses are endless.  I found it helpful to use while I was shopping for clothes online, trying to coordinate outfits, and doing a lot of dreaming and playing dress-up.

I just copied the pieces I thought would work in an outfit from the website and put them into OneNote.

For anyone looking to get me a Christmas present, these pieces from Shabby Apple and Eddie Bauer made it to my wish list

As did these dresses:

Sigh.  Back to reality.

Motivations

Yesterday I found myself in a unique situation:  The kitchen needed cleaning up, which is not so unique, but I had TIME to give it a thorough cleaning, which is very unique.  The thing is, I didn’t feel like cleaning at all.  And I didn’t have a good excuse to not clean … I had already spent time enjoying some nice and well-deserved me-time. I was simply being lazy. 

I tried to find some sort of motivation to clean the house.  My usual motivators (health, order, sanity, expectant company), weren’t working for me.  Grades have always been a good motivator for me.  So I pretended that someone was grading my efforts for keeping on top of the house.  I decided that my efforts would have received an F and the state of my kitchen would have received a C-.  This gave me some push to start cleaning.  But then my interest in cleaning started fading when I started thinking about who doing the grading:  Me.  I didn’t really care about what I was thinking at that moment.  I didn’t care what anybody would have thought.

What finally pushed me to take advantage of the time I had to clean was imagining how I would have felt if Jesus walked into the house at that moment.  I would have been totally embarrassed.  On any other day, on a day where I simply didn’t have the time to clean, I think Jesus would have been understanding.  But on a day where I had the time, I really should have tried to make my home the best it could be, if not for myself, for Him … to allow Him to be there, to in turn uplift me and my family.

I hope I’m not using the image of Jesus’ presence too tritely, but this was a spiritual realization for me.  I found myself praying for the extra help I needed and I felt an answer to my prayer.  I’m thankful that Heavenly Father saw fit to answer my prayer in this little thing.  I’m thankful for the lesson I learned that I should try my best to make my home a place where the Spirit can be and where I can feel peace.  I’m also thankful for the reassurance I received that it’s okay that my house isn’t anywhere close to perfect on most days … that other things often taken precedence over having the perfect house, but that I should do my best when I can offer it.

Which is harder? Smaller or Bigger?

My mother is in Idaho helping my brother James and my sister-in-law Brooke with their brand-new baby, who I got to meet just last week!  James and Brooke live in a small cute apartment complex near BYU Idaho.  It’s just the perfect size for a young married couple with a brand-new baby, but it does require a lot of work to keep everything in their proper place, and some things simply don’t have a place.  My mom made the point, “It’s harder to keep a small place clean than a big place.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about that because Ben and my condo is tiny.  It’s bigger than Brooke and James’ place, but we feel cramped, and it’s not just because we have more stuff than we should.  I find myself constantly picking up everything all the time.  If one thing is out of place, the house looks messy. 

On the other hand, a bigger house has more places that need cleaning.  There’s a temptation to buy more stuff for it.  Maybe a bigger house has large maintenance issues.

I wonder what the perfect-size house is.  What is “just right?” 

A Morning Routine I’m Digging

Yikes. It’s been a long time since I’ve written up something for this. Oftentimes, when I think of posting here, I think it’s either a little bit too personal or too no-duh, and therefore not worth it.  But then I think this info may be valuable to somebody, and especially to me in the future, and maybe my kids.

So here’s a pretty no-duh post that I’m going to post regardless.

I’ve finally discovered a morning routine that’s working for me in this stage of my life. I don’t follow it every day, but it’s nice to have something in place so that on the days where I get up and wonder, “What am I doing now?” something is already set up for me. So here it is:

· Good morning! Awake and arise!

· Pray to Heavenly Father & feed Emma milk.

(Note, the next five things are often switched around.)

· Start laundry & make bed.

· Refresh & brush teeth.

· Change Emma’s diaper and sing to her.

· Clean one thing other than the kitchen in the house (bathroom, room, dust).

· Shower. If I’m exercising later in the day, I take a body shower.

· Eat breakfast & listen to news. Take vitamin D.

· Empty dishwasher that ran through the night.

· Read to Emma, play with Emma.

· Read scriptures while Emma plays.

· Change laundry and change Emma’s clothes.

· Morning activity with Emma (this changes from day to day).

I just read this and think, maybe it’s TMI.  Oh, well.  I’m loving this routine and it usually takes about an hour and a half.

Kale and Quinoa

This is the easiest dish ever to make!  And it’s so tasty.  Here’s a link to the recipe.

http://www.food52.com/recipes/2434_one_pot_kale_and_quinoa_pilaf

I’m all about easy meals, and this is EASY.  Everything is cooked in one pot and there’s a short list of ingredients.  The goat cheese, lemon, kale, and pine nuts play off each other to create a tangy, sumptuous blend.  This is a favorite!

Successful Meals!

So far I have 13 easy meals that have made the repeat list. I can't wait to share a few them with you, with pictures and links.

What do all of these meals have in common?

1. They have simple ingredients that are easy to find in a grocery store and are things that I already have in my cupboard.
2. They don't require a lot of prep time.
3. They are easy to put together.
4. They are easy to clean up.
5. They are foods that I actually like. I've discovered it's no fun making food that I don't actually like or am bored of.

A lot of the recipes are coming from SOS! The Six 'Clock Scramble to the Rescue. I love this book because the recipes so far have met all of the above criteria, it organizes the recipes my seasons, and they are very tasty and unique. Plus, it gives explanations and gives great substitution ideas.

I think this is a great book for beginners. It seems to reduce recipes to their most basic elements so it's not too intimidating but the food still comes out great. And it really is teaching me how to cook, cut corners, and modify.

Another great place is www.Food52.com

Also, we got NEW POTS. I think this has made a huge difference too. These stainless steel pots heat up faster and cook more evenly.

We don't have a lot of room in our kitchen, so Ben too this idea from Small Notebook and modified it a little bit to make a pot rack.

http://smallnotebook.org/2009/05/26/diy-simple-modern-pot-rack/

A Solution for a Corner Cabinet

Sometimes it’s hard to make the most of kitchen cabinets that are built into a corner.  We found that this lazy Susan has really helped us make the most of the space on the second shelf of one of our cabinets.  Instead of having to move some of our bowls to get to things in the back, we just have to spin the tray and, voila, it’s at our fingertips.  This could work for a cabinet that is built straight in too.