Last week I posted about a new home cleaning endeavor I was taking on at Flylady.net. I must say a week and a half in, and I'm quite impressed! Every morning when I wake up, I know exactly what I need to do to get my day started. I get up, make coffee, have my quiet time and pray, and work for 2 hours while everyone else is still asleep. Then, when Penelope wakes up, I give her breakfast, empty the dishwasher, make the bed, and start a load of laundry. Then while she's watching Sesame Street, I'm stacking the dishwasher, doing 15 minutes of decluttering, and the mission of the day. I typically have it all done by 10:30. And my house? Well, each week, it looks better and better.
Last week, we were in the master bedroom. I was able to clean the bedroom, go through some books, and get our sheets clean. Now that I see how lovely our room looks clean, and how little time it takes to make the bed, I do it just about every morning! I was able to jump right in and start doing the missions on the launch pad where they were, just like Flylady says. I didn't try to catch up on the week, like my previous instincts were telling me.
This week was my first full week FLYing. We were in the living room and I did each mission every day. I also decluttered for 15 minutes every day and got our media tower, mantle, and Penelope's things cleaned up and put away where they needed to go. I cleaned inside my couch, dusted my trinkets and decorations, dusted the entertainment center, and gave the whole room a really good vacuum. You'd be surprised at how little time all of this takes when you do it a little every day.
I must say, this Flylady thing is working out really well, and I'm really happy with how my house is looking. Each week, my house is slowly being put back together and the CHAOS is slowly leaving. In fact, my sister came over on Wednesday and commented on how the house looked :-)
Happy FLYing!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Coupon Savings: March 2012
I did REALLY well this month! I even came in under budget! Woot! Here are the numbers:
March 2012:
Total (before savings: $548.68
Spent: $373.37
Savings: $175.31
Percentage: 31.95%
2012 YTD:
Total (before savings): $1,955.64
Spent: $1,356.81
Savings: $598.83
Percentage: 30.62%
I'm having such a hard time believing that its almost April already! This year is just flying by so fast! AND, Penelope will be 2 in just a few months! June is coming WAY too fast!
March 2012:
Total (before savings: $548.68
Spent: $373.37
Savings: $175.31
Percentage: 31.95%
2012 YTD:
Total (before savings): $1,955.64
Spent: $1,356.81
Savings: $598.83
Percentage: 30.62%
I'm having such a hard time believing that its almost April already! This year is just flying by so fast! AND, Penelope will be 2 in just a few months! June is coming WAY too fast!
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Flylady Baby Steps: Day 1
I am not a good housekeeper. People think that staying home, I would have all the time in the world to keep my house clean. But the reality of it is, between changing diapers, walking the dog, making meals, playing "cooking", counting to 10, saying the alphabet, and cuddling while Elmo or Curious George dance across the TV screen, and trying to fit in 4 hours of work, there just isn't enough time. (Come on, SAHMs. You KNOW what I'm talking about!)
I'm at the point where I want to give up. I tried to create a schedule of "clean this room this day", but I've never stuck to it. Some rooms just seem SO much to tackle. Add that to the fact that we're trying to clean up the office so we can move Penelope into her big girl room, and the whole house becomes overwhelming...until now.
A few months ago (or maybe closer to a year!) a friend of mine told me about The FlyLady. It's essentially, a step by step road map to cleaning your house and keeping it clean. FlyLady asks if you have CHAOS in your life - Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. With a screaming yes, I raise my hand! I looked into what she wanted us to do and decided, at the time, that I wasn't really sure I was ready for all that. Well, now I am.
The principles of the FlyLady are simple. Every day, you have a morning and an evening routine, and then you spend time in a particular room (Zones). You work on one Zone for an entire week before moving onto the next zone and you rotate through those zones so once a month, your entire house gets a tune-up. Seems simple enough. I was still pretty overwhelmed by all that I had to do each day, but then I found a few quotes on the site that helped to put all that into perspective
- “Your home did not get dirty in one day, and it will not get clean in a day either.”
- "You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are."
- "Perfectionism is Shelved in 2012!"
The second one in particular hit me pretty hard. I tend to have the "all or nothing" idea about cleaning. If I'm going to clean a room, I'm doing it all and I have to start from the beginning to make sure I'm where I'm supposed to be. The fact that I could just start today, on some random Wednesday, and not worry about if I did Monday or Tuesday made me feel really good about the whole program. From how I understand the program, I'm supposed to be subscribed to the daily emails (which I am), and once I get through the Baby Steps, then I start working on the different Zones. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong). I had a little extra time today, so I decided to do the Flight Plan for today which was dusting the top and bottom of my door and window jambs in our bedroom. I feel pretty good about it.
Today began my Baby Steps. Day 1: Shine Your Sink. I've got a stainless steel sink and always thought it was pretty shiny, until I followed FlyLady's instructions. Man! I've never seen my sink THAT shiny! Don't take my word for it! See for yourself!!
See what I mean? It almost looks new (besides all the scratches)! My sink NEVER looked this good no matter how much I cleaned it. I definitely have a sense of pride about this sink now - even though the rest of my kitchen is still in shambles. That's ok. My house didn't become a mess in one day, and it isn't going to get clean in a day either.
I look forward to getting into these habits so I no longer have CHAOS :-)
I'm at the point where I want to give up. I tried to create a schedule of "clean this room this day", but I've never stuck to it. Some rooms just seem SO much to tackle. Add that to the fact that we're trying to clean up the office so we can move Penelope into her big girl room, and the whole house becomes overwhelming...until now.
A few months ago (or maybe closer to a year!) a friend of mine told me about The FlyLady. It's essentially, a step by step road map to cleaning your house and keeping it clean. FlyLady asks if you have CHAOS in your life - Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. With a screaming yes, I raise my hand! I looked into what she wanted us to do and decided, at the time, that I wasn't really sure I was ready for all that. Well, now I am.
The principles of the FlyLady are simple. Every day, you have a morning and an evening routine, and then you spend time in a particular room (Zones). You work on one Zone for an entire week before moving onto the next zone and you rotate through those zones so once a month, your entire house gets a tune-up. Seems simple enough. I was still pretty overwhelmed by all that I had to do each day, but then I found a few quotes on the site that helped to put all that into perspective
- “Your home did not get dirty in one day, and it will not get clean in a day either.”
- "You are not behind! I don't want you to try to catch up; I just want you to jump in where we are."
- "Perfectionism is Shelved in 2012!"
The second one in particular hit me pretty hard. I tend to have the "all or nothing" idea about cleaning. If I'm going to clean a room, I'm doing it all and I have to start from the beginning to make sure I'm where I'm supposed to be. The fact that I could just start today, on some random Wednesday, and not worry about if I did Monday or Tuesday made me feel really good about the whole program. From how I understand the program, I'm supposed to be subscribed to the daily emails (which I am), and once I get through the Baby Steps, then I start working on the different Zones. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong). I had a little extra time today, so I decided to do the Flight Plan for today which was dusting the top and bottom of my door and window jambs in our bedroom. I feel pretty good about it.
Today began my Baby Steps. Day 1: Shine Your Sink. I've got a stainless steel sink and always thought it was pretty shiny, until I followed FlyLady's instructions. Man! I've never seen my sink THAT shiny! Don't take my word for it! See for yourself!!
 |
| Before |
 | |
| After |
I look forward to getting into these habits so I no longer have CHAOS :-)
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Coupon Savings: February 2012...and some exciting news!
I'm really proud of myself this month. I went over budget again, but it was only by $12. Since we are starting to transition Penelope from cloth diapers to disposables, that accounts for the extra money. But still, I'm doing great for the year!
February 2012:
Total (before savings): $590.68
Spent: $412.98
Savings: $177.70
Percentage: 30.08%
2012 YTD:
Total (before savings):$1,406.96
Spent: $983.44
Savings:$423.52
Percentage:30.10%
And now, for some exciting news...My sister is getting married!!! She and her boyfriend went on a cruise this past weekend and he popped the question! They've been together for nearly 5 years so its been a long time coming, but we are so excited for them! Congratulations Ariel Stewart and Tony Kasten!!! :-D
February 2012:
Total (before savings): $590.68
Spent: $412.98
Savings: $177.70
Percentage: 30.08%
2012 YTD:
Total (before savings):$1,406.96
Spent: $983.44
Savings:$423.52
Percentage:30.10%
And now, for some exciting news...My sister is getting married!!! She and her boyfriend went on a cruise this past weekend and he popped the question! They've been together for nearly 5 years so its been a long time coming, but we are so excited for them! Congratulations Ariel Stewart and Tony Kasten!!! :-D
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Culinary Experiment: Homemade Fruit by the Foot: Part 2
I've been attempting this fruit leather recipe for weeks now with little success, hence the reason I haven't updated you yet. I've been talking to Amy at Superhealthykids.com, looking for any suggestions on what I could do to make it better. And I learned a few things:
1. Putting the pan in the oven before turning the oven on helps a bit. It still takes nearly 24 hours for it to dry out perfectly and I still need to turn the oven on the next day to help dry out the middle...which of course dries out the ends too much.
2. Cooking spray works better than spray oil from my Misto. I used Pam with this last batch and got a full pan's worth, that pulled off wonderfully.
3. Aluminum foil is definitely the way to go with the liner. Wax paper and parchment paper don't work.
So I'm still working on it, but I'm definitely getting closer. I've got a couple of things I want to try to hopefully perfect this one for me. After getting a taste of a good batch, I want to conquer this one. Here's my ideas:
1. Use a smaller pan. The one I have been using is 11x17, but I also have a 9x13 pan I can try.
2. Increase the "cooking time" to 30 minutes instead of 15 minutes at 250.
3. Pour the mix onto the pan, letting it settle itself, without tilting the pan to spread it out.
4. Increase the heat to 300 and leave it in for the normal 15 minutes to hopefully let the middle dry out.
5. Decrease the heat to 200 and increase the "cooking time" to an hour.
I will keep you posted!!
1. Putting the pan in the oven before turning the oven on helps a bit. It still takes nearly 24 hours for it to dry out perfectly and I still need to turn the oven on the next day to help dry out the middle...which of course dries out the ends too much.
2. Cooking spray works better than spray oil from my Misto. I used Pam with this last batch and got a full pan's worth, that pulled off wonderfully.
3. Aluminum foil is definitely the way to go with the liner. Wax paper and parchment paper don't work.
So I'm still working on it, but I'm definitely getting closer. I've got a couple of things I want to try to hopefully perfect this one for me. After getting a taste of a good batch, I want to conquer this one. Here's my ideas:
1. Use a smaller pan. The one I have been using is 11x17, but I also have a 9x13 pan I can try.
2. Increase the "cooking time" to 30 minutes instead of 15 minutes at 250.
3. Pour the mix onto the pan, letting it settle itself, without tilting the pan to spread it out.
4. Increase the heat to 300 and leave it in for the normal 15 minutes to hopefully let the middle dry out.
5. Decrease the heat to 200 and increase the "cooking time" to an hour.
I will keep you posted!!
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Recipe Review: Chicken Fajita Pizza
Got a recipe you want me to review? Email me here
If I am perfectly honest, pizza is the greatest food of forever. I mean, what's not to love? It's cheesy, with a yummy sauce of a multitude of varieties, and topped with whatever your heart desires. Plus, you get to eat it with your hands!! What could be better?
I do love me some pizza, and I'm always looking for interesting toppings to add to the fun of eating it (my current favorite is jalapeno and pineapple), so when I stumbled upon this recipe, I was really excited about it. We like to have pizza about once a week, and we had exhausted all of the other pizza recipes we usually make, so we wanted to find something new. I was looking for a good chicken fajita recipe and found this one instead.
The Recipe: Chicken Fajita Pizza
The Procedure:
The how-to for this recipe was pretty simple. Slice up some green peppers, onions, and cut chicken into small bite-size pieces (the recipe specifies 2 inch pieces). I heated the oil in my skillet (I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil), and tossed in the chicken. I decided to let my chicken cook for 7 minutes instead of 5. I'm a little paranoid when it comes to chicken being cooked all the way through. I think it made the chicken a little drier, but Travis said it was perfect. After the chicken cooked, I added my veggies and seasonings, and let it cook for another 3 minutes.
For the crust, I just used the store bought pizza crust and I sprayed it with a little cooking spray beforehand (I used my Misto). I spread my yummy chicken mixture on the pizza, making sure it covered every spot. Then I added the salsa and fresh shredded monterrey jack cheese. And into the oven it went for 12 minutes!
The Verdict:
Mmmmmmmmm. The spices, combined with the veggies and the chicken, made it taste like a fajita, and the pizza crust and cheese made it taste like pizza. It was such an amazing combination of Mexican and Italian cuisine. We ended up with 6 slices, and it was so filling, I could only eat 2. Travis ate all his! :-P
The Low-down:
This recipe was super simple and so tasty. The cheese was melted and nicely browned when it came out of the oven, so if you like your cheese not toasty, pull it out a minute or two early.
This was amazing! 5 stitches!
If I am perfectly honest, pizza is the greatest food of forever. I mean, what's not to love? It's cheesy, with a yummy sauce of a multitude of varieties, and topped with whatever your heart desires. Plus, you get to eat it with your hands!! What could be better?
I do love me some pizza, and I'm always looking for interesting toppings to add to the fun of eating it (my current favorite is jalapeno and pineapple), so when I stumbled upon this recipe, I was really excited about it. We like to have pizza about once a week, and we had exhausted all of the other pizza recipes we usually make, so we wanted to find something new. I was looking for a good chicken fajita recipe and found this one instead.
The Recipe: Chicken Fajita Pizza
The Procedure:
The how-to for this recipe was pretty simple. Slice up some green peppers, onions, and cut chicken into small bite-size pieces (the recipe specifies 2 inch pieces). I heated the oil in my skillet (I used olive oil instead of vegetable oil), and tossed in the chicken. I decided to let my chicken cook for 7 minutes instead of 5. I'm a little paranoid when it comes to chicken being cooked all the way through. I think it made the chicken a little drier, but Travis said it was perfect. After the chicken cooked, I added my veggies and seasonings, and let it cook for another 3 minutes.
For the crust, I just used the store bought pizza crust and I sprayed it with a little cooking spray beforehand (I used my Misto). I spread my yummy chicken mixture on the pizza, making sure it covered every spot. Then I added the salsa and fresh shredded monterrey jack cheese. And into the oven it went for 12 minutes!
 |
| Ready for the oven! |
 |
| Look! Fiesta plates! :-) |
Mmmmmmmmm. The spices, combined with the veggies and the chicken, made it taste like a fajita, and the pizza crust and cheese made it taste like pizza. It was such an amazing combination of Mexican and Italian cuisine. We ended up with 6 slices, and it was so filling, I could only eat 2. Travis ate all his! :-P
The Low-down:
This recipe was super simple and so tasty. The cheese was melted and nicely browned when it came out of the oven, so if you like your cheese not toasty, pull it out a minute or two early.
This was amazing! 5 stitches!
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Recipe Review: Homemade Skinny Chocolate Cake
Got a recipe you want me to review? Email me here
Happy Valentine's Day! The holiday of love! Ok, so I personally believe that you should show people you love them more than just one day a year. Love is a verb, afterall, but I digress.
On Tuesday nights, we host a Bible study at our house, and this year, Valentine's Day lands on a Tuesday. So what does this mean? Well, Sarah's gonna bake for everyone, of course! I found an amazing recipe at Gina's Skinny Taste (thanks Gina!) for heart shaped chocolate cake from scratch. Before I say anymore about this delicious recipe, lets get to it!
The Recipe: Homemade Skinny Chocolate Cake
The Procedure:
This recipe first looks pretty complicated. But its really just a basic chocolate cake recipe...with pudding, and applesauce, and yogurt...and no butter. Wait, what? No butter? How is this ever going to taste good? Butter makes the world go 'round! Well, pudding, yogurt, and applesauce are all tricks that you can use to cut back on oil and butter in cakes, cookies, brownies, muffins, etc. Gina combined all of them together and it really makes a difference.
I made this late Monday (around 9pm) and Travis helped me with it. It was fun baking with him :-) While I was combining the dry ingredients together, he was mixing the coffee and cocoa together. After I finished, and while he was still stirring, I poured in the milk and the vanilla. Then we fired up the Kitchenaid and put in the oil and sugar, followed by the applesauce and eggs. We started alternating the dry and wet goods until everything was incorporated and then we added the yogurt. After making sure everything was mixed together, it went into my glass 9x13" dish and into the oven. Gina says that hers took 40 minutes but cupcakes would be shorter. I didn't know if she was using glass or metal or ceramic so I started checking the cake at 30 minutes. It ended up taking right at 40 minutes. I let it cool, and then covered it to sit overnight. Yesterday, I used a heart shaped cookie cutter and cut out 9 hearts of cake and placed them on a plate in the refrigerator.
I melted down some Nestle Toll House Semi Sweet Chunks in the microwave (put in for 30 seconds twice, mixing in between, and then 10 second intervals after that until melted, mixing in between). I took a pastry bag and cut off the tip, and then put the chocolate in the pastry bag. You don't want the chocolate to be super runny. You want it to have the consistency of frosting, but you need to make sure its fully melted. I then proceeded to write the name of everyone in our home group in chocolate on wax paper. I underlined each name and then added a stem. Then I put them in the freezer to harden.
As home group was getting ready to start, I pulled the cakes and drizzled some Hershey's syrup over the top. I then pulled the names out of the freezer and carefully cut the wax paper around each name to separate them. Then I placed them in the cake and garnished with a few fresh raspberries.
The Verdict:
The cake was absolutely amazing. It was so moist and super chocolatley. It's WAY better than anything that comes in a box! The chocolate names came out beautifully, and were a huge hit with everyone! This is definitely my new go to recipe for chocolate cake!
The Low-Down:
Make the cake the day before you serve it so it has time to cool. It seemed to taste better cold.
Make the chocolate names (or shapes) the same day and keep in the freezer until ready to serve. Mine started to melt after being out of the freezer only 10 minutes. A friend recommended adding a little paraffin to the chocolate to help with that
This is seriously, the best chocolate cake I've ever had. If I could give it more than 5 stitches, I totally would!
Happy Valentine's Day! The holiday of love! Ok, so I personally believe that you should show people you love them more than just one day a year. Love is a verb, afterall, but I digress.
On Tuesday nights, we host a Bible study at our house, and this year, Valentine's Day lands on a Tuesday. So what does this mean? Well, Sarah's gonna bake for everyone, of course! I found an amazing recipe at Gina's Skinny Taste (thanks Gina!) for heart shaped chocolate cake from scratch. Before I say anymore about this delicious recipe, lets get to it!
The Recipe: Homemade Skinny Chocolate Cake
The Procedure:
This recipe first looks pretty complicated. But its really just a basic chocolate cake recipe...with pudding, and applesauce, and yogurt...and no butter. Wait, what? No butter? How is this ever going to taste good? Butter makes the world go 'round! Well, pudding, yogurt, and applesauce are all tricks that you can use to cut back on oil and butter in cakes, cookies, brownies, muffins, etc. Gina combined all of them together and it really makes a difference.
I made this late Monday (around 9pm) and Travis helped me with it. It was fun baking with him :-) While I was combining the dry ingredients together, he was mixing the coffee and cocoa together. After I finished, and while he was still stirring, I poured in the milk and the vanilla. Then we fired up the Kitchenaid and put in the oil and sugar, followed by the applesauce and eggs. We started alternating the dry and wet goods until everything was incorporated and then we added the yogurt. After making sure everything was mixed together, it went into my glass 9x13" dish and into the oven. Gina says that hers took 40 minutes but cupcakes would be shorter. I didn't know if she was using glass or metal or ceramic so I started checking the cake at 30 minutes. It ended up taking right at 40 minutes. I let it cool, and then covered it to sit overnight. Yesterday, I used a heart shaped cookie cutter and cut out 9 hearts of cake and placed them on a plate in the refrigerator.
I melted down some Nestle Toll House Semi Sweet Chunks in the microwave (put in for 30 seconds twice, mixing in between, and then 10 second intervals after that until melted, mixing in between). I took a pastry bag and cut off the tip, and then put the chocolate in the pastry bag. You don't want the chocolate to be super runny. You want it to have the consistency of frosting, but you need to make sure its fully melted. I then proceeded to write the name of everyone in our home group in chocolate on wax paper. I underlined each name and then added a stem. Then I put them in the freezer to harden.
As home group was getting ready to start, I pulled the cakes and drizzled some Hershey's syrup over the top. I then pulled the names out of the freezer and carefully cut the wax paper around each name to separate them. Then I placed them in the cake and garnished with a few fresh raspberries.
The Verdict:
The cake was absolutely amazing. It was so moist and super chocolatley. It's WAY better than anything that comes in a box! The chocolate names came out beautifully, and were a huge hit with everyone! This is definitely my new go to recipe for chocolate cake!
The Low-Down:
Make the cake the day before you serve it so it has time to cool. It seemed to taste better cold.
Make the chocolate names (or shapes) the same day and keep in the freezer until ready to serve. Mine started to melt after being out of the freezer only 10 minutes. A friend recommended adding a little paraffin to the chocolate to help with that
This is seriously, the best chocolate cake I've ever had. If I could give it more than 5 stitches, I totally would!
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