Less Posts

So, I'm not going to be posting as much for the next three weeks.  Why?, you ask.  Well, I've got a job!  I'm tutoring at the Elementary school my kids go to.  I go every day for 5 hours.  Plus, I get an hour for lunch, so I get to come home. (I only live 4 minutes away.)

So far it's good, but I'm noticing I'm doing and using a lot "more". I have to drive more; use more gas; wash more clothes; use more detergent; have more showers; use more soap and shampoo; use more hair products and deodorant(!). (It seems like before perhaps I was a bit of a slob, having no showers or clean clothes! However, I could get away with wearing the same thing a couple times before washing and without much dirty work or stress (= stinky sweat) I didn't have to shower all the time ;-)  . This is part of my "reducing" for the environment!) Luckily I have enough nice clothes to make quite a few outfits so I didn't have to buy more clothes! But for all this extra stuff,  I guess I'll have more money. Is it worth it? We shall see!

On the other hand, I have less time to shop (HH went this week); less time with family in order to do things that I'd normally do during the day; less time to read blogs; blog myself; and putter around the house.  This has come at a good time because I've actually kinda run out of house projects I "want" to do.  There's always so much to do, but we've slowed down to save a bit more moulah!

I like this job for the hours. I get to leave about 10 minutes after the kids get on the bus and I'm home about 5 minutes before they get home, plus the hour I'm home at lunch. I also like that it's so close.  Most of the kids are good.  (A couple seem to not like me- I'm not sure if it's me or they just don't want to read!)  I did substitute teaching a few years ago (which is why I'm qualified to do tutoring), and I much prefer dealing with one kid at a time. I guess there's not much I don't like about it!

It will last for 3 weeks until March Break which starts on March 17.  After that, I believe they'll have to see if they get more funding.  So, we'll see. Ideally, I think I'd like to have one day off per week so I can do my grocery shopping (It's hard for me to give that up as I am quite the expert ;-) and HH always seems to miss the sale items.  I know, it's just me! and I'm glad HH is even available to do the shopping! :-)). Also, I can have lunch with HH on my day off.  Plus I'd have time to do whatever, while the kids are away.  It's just easier to get things done without having to be concerned about the kids.

Here's a couple pictures I found last week from the library.

First, in House & Home magazine

 are some chairs, very similar the one I re-did, in House & Home magazine.

Here's my chair.

And from the book Farmhouses,

is another painted floor.

like the one in our front room.

Have a great weekend!  I'll be back next Tuesday to post about our meals. :-)

Tasty Tuesday

Here's what we're eating this week.

• Mon- Spinach/ Cheese Raviolis, Ragu Sauce, Broccoli
• Tues- Spring Rolls, Fried Rice, Stir-fried Veggies
• Wed- Crunchy Fish Burgers (Great Food Fast pg 137), Buns, Coleslaw, Crudites, Baked home-made french fries (I used triscuits instead of cornflakes for the fish and panfried them in the electric skillet.)
• Thurs- Veggie Pot Pie (Great Food Fast pg 134) HH & I Thai soup from Charlottetown
• Fri- Meatloaf Muffins (Great Food Fast pg 109) Frozen Pizza
• Sat- Pizza, Meatloaf (not muffins) potatoes, mixed frozen veggies (HH & DD liked meatloaf, but not DS)
• Sun- HH's Soup- Taco Hamburger with Egg Noodles

I'm still making recipes from this library book I got last week.

Here they are.

Here's a quick, easy recipe I made to send for lunches.  I used Whole Wheat Pastry flour instead of all purpose.

I also made these muffins on Sunday

Everybody liked them for breakfast, but they weren't so popular for the kids lunches!

Here's what we ate last year.

• Mon- Frozen Trout, Leftover Potatoes with onions, Veg
• Tues- Pasta & Sauce
• Wed- Fajitas Frozen "Beef"
• Thurs- Baked Chicken Breasts
• Fri- Tortilla Pizza
• Sat- Out
• Sun- Frozen Chili

Have a great week! :-)

Stuff

Hi!

So, we've had 2 snow days in a row!  It snowed overnight Tuesday (with more in the eastern part of the island where the school board is), but it had pretty much cleared up here by 7:00am.  However, since the school board had not cancelled school a week or so ago and had 4 buses go off the roads because of ice, they were more cautious and cancelled school for the day.  The same thing happened yesterday (Thurs) with snow during the night and pretty much clearing by 9:00.

Wednesday was a fun snow day.  The snow was light and powdery.  The kids made "houses" in different parts of the yard and I made "roads" in the snow using the snow shoes.  I also went cross country skiiing to make a "railway track". The kids used their birthday month and day for addresses which they wrote in the snow.  DD's house was in the back corner of the yard by the horse barn.  I got the playhouse.  DS's house was the tree house.  There was another house by the breezeway and we made what turned into a post office in the middle of the yard.  Yesterday (Thurs) we had to redo everything because of the snow overnight. But it was wet and sticky so walking around in snow shoes was hard since the snow stuck to the bottom.  The same with the cross country skis.  Finally, today the kids are back in school.  I missed my time by myself!  HH also had his work delayed til 12 on Wed. and 10:30 on Thurs.  BTW, we are expecting more snow tonight!

So, on to decor stuff.  Here's a picture I found at Kara Paslay Designs that has a floor that looks like the one I painted in the front room!

It's actually in this fancy house from S.R. Gambrel! Oh, la, la! :-)

Here's our floor.

 I want to share what we did for Valentine's Day before it gets too far away. For dessert, I made a spice cake (from a mix).  DS helped ice and decorate it.  I got some red sugar on sale and he covered the cake with it and left the hearts white!

My phone didn't work before dinner so I didn't get a picture of the whole cake.  Or the fancy heart shaped tortillas for pizzas with heart shaped pepperonis!  But here's the cake mostly eaten!

I put out a few decorations for the table. 

I put Valentine tape around a pink pedestal and some candle holders so we could eat by candle light.  I also wrapped up chocolates for everybody at their place setting. DD had a friend over after school and I thought Oh, now we can't be fancy like I'd planned.  But then I thought, Why not be fancy? So, we were and it was fun! :-)

Have a great weekend! :-)

Tasty Tuesday

Hi!

Yesterday was a holiday, Islander Day, so it was a day off for everybody.  We had a blizzard on Sunday!  The kids had gone to Summerside to spend Saturday night and the plan was to have the in-laws and kids come back on Sunday for dinner.  However, the storm prevented this and DS and DD didn't get home til yesterday!  That was fine, though.  They have lots of friends in town and had a grand ole time being storm-stayed.  HH & I had a relaxing storm day too, watching "House of Cards" on Netflix.  The storm actually stopped around 4:00 Sunday, but our road didn't get plowed till around 10:00pm!  HH cleared our driveway and there was a big drift on the road right in front of the house.  It was nice and sunny (though cold) yesterday so the kids and I were able to go outside for a bit to build snow forts.

So, I went shopping this morning and spent around $120.  I didn't buy meats but I did I buy socks for HH, toothpaste and Ibuprofen so without those, it would've been around $100.  Finally, a more reasonable bill.

Here's our menu for the week.

• Mon- Frozen Lasagna, Crudites
• Tues- Leftover Curry Beef Stew from Sunday
• Wed- Beans- Haystacks by DS
• Thurs- Chicken Smelts, Roasted Cauliflower, Krispy Kale, Frozen Black Eyed Peas
• Fri- Pizza Creole Crockpot Chicken (see recipe below)
• Sat- Leftovers (Eggs?) Tortilla Cheese Pizza
• Sun- HH Soup (probably chicken) Slow cooker Chicken stock with pre-cooked potatoes and carrots

Here's a recipe I found in this library book.

Here's what we ate last year.

• Mon- Pasta, Frozen Chickpeas
• Tues- Porkchops, Broccoli, Potatoes
• Wed- Frozen Chickpeas, Quinoa, Chinese Cabbage (funny dinner!) No school today (b/c storm?)
• Thurs-//Turnip Soufflee, Bread (no power!)
• Fri- Homemade Mac & Cheese
• Sat- Homemade Pizza
• Sun- Lima Bean Cassoulet (Vegetarian Slow Cooker pg 102)

It's funny because last year the kids also got storm-stayed in town on Saturday and Sunday.  Plus we are expecting more snow tomorrow and Thursday just like last year!

Have a great week! :-) 

Curtains (Valentine's Day!)

Hi!

Happy Valentine's Day!  Here are the few decorations I put up.

I made a garland from our old red couch material.  It alternates red and white (the front and back of the material).  I cut out the letters and sewed them together on the sewing machine last year. I'd forgotten about it!  DD also put up some window gels!

Here's another craft (I think from Martha Stewart). I cut out a heart from an old map, then used an exacto knife to cut out a bunch of hearts on the inside of the big heart, leaving the sides, tops and bottoms attached.

  

When you lift it up, it has hearts on the inside.  It's supposed to be a card, but I just left it as a decoration.

I also made more map hearts.

Last year, I had them hung up as a garland I think in the back room/bedroom by our dresser mirror. This year I just put them on the secretary.

From the side they look like hearts!

Finally, we have some hearts the kids did last year.  (Can you see what I'm watching? Covert Affairs on Netflix. :-))

So, I actually did a little house project this week.  I finally put up DD's curtain on her front window.

I also fixed the curtain for her closet nook. I used iron-on hem tape to hem it since I think the sewing machine isn't working.  A while back we kept smelling a burning rubber smell and couldn't figure out what it was.  It turns out the foot pedal on the sewing machine had gotten squished and it was going as if it was sewing! I'd kept the machine plugged in because it was easier, but I never thought that would happen.  Actually, it had been acting funny before that, and I haven't tried it out so maybe it's ok.  Anyway, it was just easier to use the hem tape for this project.

 I also painted the thin rod and hung it up with ribbon and hooks.

Here's how it used to look.

Have a great weekend! :-)

Library Book Inspiration

Hi!

I checked out a bunch of decorating books from the library and got some inspiration.

Here's the first book.

I've been thinking of taking the top part of the wardrobe pantry doors out

and replacing it with chicken wire, like this.

Here's a picture of a trunk like the one I re-did. 

Here's how we'd like our back porch to look!

Here's a cute nook...

And here's a dresser, kinda like the desk I re-did for DS.

Here's another good decorating book.

I like this table outside.

I think this picture is for the light swagged over.

Here's a ceiling fan with a chandelier under it.  

We have a ceiling fan in the kitchen, but I'd like to hang another light there. Maybe we could combine them?

Another cabinet with chicken wire!

This is a super low window.

I liked pretty much everything in this book.

Here is a master bedroom shower inspiration!

That's all for now! :-)

Tasty Tuesday

Hi!

Here's the menu for the week!

• Mon- Spaghetti, Sauce, Sugar Snap Peas, Salad
• Tues- Shepherd's Pie - 1/2 beef, 1/2 Lentils
• Wed Thurs- Spicy Vegetable Red Lentil Soup, Leftover rice (Canada's Best Slow Cooker Recipes pg 49)
• Thurs Wed- Chicken Nuggets
• Fri- Valentine's Day- Kids- Tortilla Heart Pizza with Heart pepperonis, Grownups- Bibimbap (HH didn't get to C'town) Leftover Pasta
• Sat- Leftovers Kids gone Shish Tawook and Falafels
• Sun- HH Beef Stew with inlaws visiting Curry

Last year's menu.

• Mon-Moroccan Salmon, Egg roll, rice
• Tues- Pad Thai
• Wed- Mac & Cheese (Vegetarian Family cookbook pg 109)
• Thurs- Valentine's Day- Chickpea Soup with Spinach (WVC pg 596) Cornbread
• Fri- Crispy Panfried Haddock, Roasted Cauliflower, Turnip
• Sat- Leftovers
• Sun- Storm- Kid's in town- Leftovers

Have a great day! :-)

Another Stool

Hi!

We are having beautiful sunny, cold weather for the next little while.  I went for a walk this morning with the walking group.  It's still slow for projects. I was talking to my dad (on his birthday Feb 5) and he asked what I've been doing to keep busy. I had to think a bit... and said I'm just planning all the projects I'll do when it warms up!

However, I did do a little project this week.  Here it is:

We have 4 Target bentwood stools. I redid one to look like this.

Here's another one that needed a make-over.  It stays in the front room under the dresser.  Here's how it looked Before.

I decided to use some home-made white chalk paint and gold on the bottom. First I painted the white and did 3 coats.  Then I taped off the bottom and had to do 3 coats of the gold. I sealed it with my Johnson Paste Wax. It's a bit smelly, but gets the job done!

Here it is in the front room! 

I think it looks nice! 

Have a great weekend! :-)