...and all through the house
the wifey was excited for her beloved spouse.
tickets to the game,
were passed out at the shop
(believe me, these teams are not at the top).
but whom to go with?
the babe cannot hang,
so wifey must miss the big game.
dasher? dancer? donner? blitzen?
their wives think it's scandelous,
Christmas Eve to be missing.
but this wifey is stoked.
this wifey shouts "HORRAY!"
her husband works so hard every day:
providing for his family,
taking care of their needs,
deserving of fun-time he is--indeed!
so blessings for safe travel,
and good times to be had;
when he returns home,
he's still beloved Dad.
refreshed from an outing, all his own
in time for the festivities;
loving memories to hone.
our wish to you, this not quite chilly night?
A Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Wife!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Menu Plan Monday
 |
| http://orgjunkie.com/menu-plan-monday-guidelines |
Monday:
- eggs and bacon
- grapes
- soup and quesa
- rotini
- cereal (and fruit?)
- carrots
- meatloaf sandwiches (Grandma made meatloaf Saturday while I was working!)
- cajun skillet chicken (from a volume 3 Menu Mailer)
- bagels and yogurt
- granola bars
- clinkerdagger salad
- skillet mac and beef (from a volume 3 Menu Mailer)
- oatmeal and fruit
- pretzels (and craisins?)
- tortilla pizzas
- southwest easy oven ckn
- cereal (and fruit?)
- popcorn (and fruit?)
- lunch meat sandwich
- lumberjack hash
- peach pancakes
- animal crackers
- tuna (or tuna melts)
- tacos
- overnight coffee cake
- homemade mac and chs
- cranberry pork roast
Friday, December 16, 2011
Good Intentions Gone Awry
The plan for today was to eyeball some houses and hit Sams Club to restock. Oh, and to have a couple of people for dinner from church.
The actuality? We never made it to Sams Club, we didn't eyeball the houses we intended to, and after rushing home to get an alternative meal started for our guests (since we didn't make it to Sams) they called to let us know they weren't going to be able to make it after all...
Which ended up being a good thing.
Before we left the house I thought I'd be brilliant and start the upright freezer defrosting. My difficulty with gauging spatial bit me in the butt---we came home to a lake under the freezer. I think I managed to get it mopped up before it could damage the walls.
So, the freezer is defrosted and wiped out. DH's beverage fridge on top of the freezer has been dusted, as has the back of the freezer. The walls around the freezer have been wiped down, the floor underneath has been cleaned; all sides of the freezer have been wiped down and fingerprints removed.
The black shelving was pulled out as well because some of the lake had seeped under it. The floor was well vacuumed and I decided to remove the top layer of the shelving and turn it sideways to barely NOT fit under the cabinet. DH's honey-do list just got longer--I need him to trim one set of "legs" so the shelving unit will fit just under the cabinet. That will make it easier to use the shelves, and the shoe tray can sit in front of it without cluttering up the main space.
And dinner? The kids ended up making themselves some oatmeal.
The actuality? We never made it to Sams Club, we didn't eyeball the houses we intended to, and after rushing home to get an alternative meal started for our guests (since we didn't make it to Sams) they called to let us know they weren't going to be able to make it after all...
Which ended up being a good thing.
Before we left the house I thought I'd be brilliant and start the upright freezer defrosting. My difficulty with gauging spatial bit me in the butt---we came home to a lake under the freezer. I think I managed to get it mopped up before it could damage the walls.
So, the freezer is defrosted and wiped out. DH's beverage fridge on top of the freezer has been dusted, as has the back of the freezer. The walls around the freezer have been wiped down, the floor underneath has been cleaned; all sides of the freezer have been wiped down and fingerprints removed.
The black shelving was pulled out as well because some of the lake had seeped under it. The floor was well vacuumed and I decided to remove the top layer of the shelving and turn it sideways to barely NOT fit under the cabinet. DH's honey-do list just got longer--I need him to trim one set of "legs" so the shelving unit will fit just under the cabinet. That will make it easier to use the shelves, and the shoe tray can sit in front of it without cluttering up the main space.
And dinner? The kids ended up making themselves some oatmeal.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Tackle It Tuesday
I never remember to take pictures until I actually sit down to blog. *sigh*
This particular Tuesday Tackle I took care of some kitchen remnants that were still hanging around. The NuWave was put away. The stone was cleaned and put away (it sat out so long it required another cleaning). The electric griddle was cleaned (from Sunday's peach pancake success) and put away. The functional side of the kitchen was resolved, the dishes in the dishwasher and ran.
Also, the Summer Award paperwork for the Pack was dropped off to the Scout Office; and six potential residences were eyeballed for Grandma--once again, far too many were summarily crossed off the list. *sigh*
Dinner actually ended up being hamburger helper, but that's because I got the beef stew started too late. However, I did manage to bake banana muffins (and eat too many of them), bake a roast chicken, cook the beef stew, as well as cook and puree butternut squash for the babe.
Pretty productive Tuesday compared to what it has been for quite some time!
Monday, December 12, 2011
Menu Plan Monday
|
| http://orgjunkie.com/menu-plan-monday-guidelines |
Grandma arrived safely and her critters survived the drive (as well as the snow and rain)! They're staying with us until Grandma finds a house all her own. On top of that, I haven't grocery shopped sufficiently for at least a month--one round of grocery budget was gingerbread supplies, another was never used on food because it was used on Christmas gifts; I don't recall beyond that now. So my upright freezer is running slim, which means it's time to sort the logistics for defrosting it--it has three pork roasts, about a third of a package of meatballs, several quarts of various homemade soups, and a number of freezer jam pints; plus some lunch containers, a ham steak, and a pound of bacon. Everything else doesn't require freezing, I just keep them in there to prolong the shelf life for me: grains, dried produce, tea, MIL's coffee....
What I have for this week's menu, thus far:
Monday:
- cereal and fruit
- leftovers
- chili and cornbread (the cornbread will be a rice milk attempt)
- oatmeal
- sandwich
- beef stew and biscuits (sans rutabaga because i don't have any right now; the biscuits will be a rice milk attempt)
- toad-in-a-hole (if I get bread made)
- dippy ckn
- crockpot pork roast
- barley mush
- sandwich
- garlicky meatloaf
- eggs, bacon, toast
- soup and quesa
- soutwest easy oven ckn
- ??
- sandwich
- breakfast for dinner: ??
- peach pancakes (made with rice milk)
- chips and dip
- crockpot rotisserie ckn
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Our Red Kettle Passion
My mom survived the Good Friday Earthquake.
This historic event is intrinsically tied to our family history because of my grandfather's service in the Alaska Air Guard at that time. We have a few family tales that we bring up now and then, and when we lived there we would occasionally visit Earthquake Park. (I even wrote a poem about it in a high school creative writing class that I discovered could be read to part of Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique").
We enthusiastically drop change into every Salvation Army Red Kettle we pass because of my mother's experience with their soup kitchen after the quake. I don't know if my children will ever experience the emotional connection to the event, or these acts of Kettle donation, that I have--they have never seen the remnants of the destruction, and thus far they haven't really heard all the tales. For me, I get a little choked up inside each time I hear the kettle bell ringing.
This historic event is intrinsically tied to our family history because of my grandfather's service in the Alaska Air Guard at that time. We have a few family tales that we bring up now and then, and when we lived there we would occasionally visit Earthquake Park. (I even wrote a poem about it in a high school creative writing class that I discovered could be read to part of Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique").
We enthusiastically drop change into every Salvation Army Red Kettle we pass because of my mother's experience with their soup kitchen after the quake. I don't know if my children will ever experience the emotional connection to the event, or these acts of Kettle donation, that I have--they have never seen the remnants of the destruction, and thus far they haven't really heard all the tales. For me, I get a little choked up inside each time I hear the kettle bell ringing.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Menu Plan Monday
|
| http://orgjunkie.com/menu-plan-monday-guidelines |
Monday:
- breakfast burritos
- tortilla pizzas (I'll probably have tuna, again, due to the cheese)
- white chili
- overnight oatmeal
- sandwiches (I can't have pb and I can't have cheese so I haven't figured out what I'm eating)
- southern smothered pork chops
- toad-in-a-hole
- dippy ckn
- Leanne Ely's Veggie Soup (Menu Mailer vol.3, issue 11)
- eggs and bacon
- sandwiches
- spaghetti
- barley mush
- soup and quesadillas (no quesas for me)
- lumberjack hash
- rice milk pancakes (experiment)
- sandwiches
- Carla Hall's Garlicky Meatloaf
- peach cobbler (maybe)
- chips and dip (more tuna for mama??)
- crockpot rotisserie ckn
Sunday, December 4, 2011
It's about Giving
Years ago my mom made a statement that has resonated with me for the duration of my life.
Santa is anybody that wishes to give anonymously.
My best Christmas memories, outside of the family holiday programs, are the times that we were able to play Secret Santa for somebody. Ducking down open, icy stairwells, slinking between parked vehicles, avoiding the glow of motion-sensor security lights...delivering gifts to let somebody else know that they are being thought of. Interestingly, except for one delivery (a crate of mandarin oranges), I don't recall any of the gifts we delivered--but I remember the glow in my heart that lasted a very long time.
As a child in a single-mother household, I experienced being on the receiving end of Secret Santas as well, and while it was gratefully received I far prefer doing the giving, it's much more gratifying!
And then I had my own kids and I struggled with figuring out what our traditions were.
The first several Christmases we didn't have spare cash for anonymous gifts, but the grandparents sent such an overwhelming bounty of gifts that we asked Santa to bless others. And that's the response the nosey-nellies in the grocery store, and other outings, during the holidays receive: We ask Santa to bless others because the grandparents send so much.
And our kids? They know that Santa is anybody that wishes to give anonymously. They've filled stockings for boys their age for The Salvation Army to be a Secret Santa for somebody else. They deposit in The Salvation Army's Red Kettles every time we pass one. Each holiday season we learn something else about the history of holiday traditions. And while the grandparents, thankfully, don't send the massive quantity of gifts they did in the beginning of our adventure in raising children, we still ask Santa to bless others. And we bless others too, as we are able.
Because it's about the giving.
And our next step is to work on the timely expression of gratitude.
Santa is anybody that wishes to give anonymously.
My best Christmas memories, outside of the family holiday programs, are the times that we were able to play Secret Santa for somebody. Ducking down open, icy stairwells, slinking between parked vehicles, avoiding the glow of motion-sensor security lights...delivering gifts to let somebody else know that they are being thought of. Interestingly, except for one delivery (a crate of mandarin oranges), I don't recall any of the gifts we delivered--but I remember the glow in my heart that lasted a very long time.
As a child in a single-mother household, I experienced being on the receiving end of Secret Santas as well, and while it was gratefully received I far prefer doing the giving, it's much more gratifying!
And then I had my own kids and I struggled with figuring out what our traditions were.
The first several Christmases we didn't have spare cash for anonymous gifts, but the grandparents sent such an overwhelming bounty of gifts that we asked Santa to bless others. And that's the response the nosey-nellies in the grocery store, and other outings, during the holidays receive: We ask Santa to bless others because the grandparents send so much.
And our kids? They know that Santa is anybody that wishes to give anonymously. They've filled stockings for boys their age for The Salvation Army to be a Secret Santa for somebody else. They deposit in The Salvation Army's Red Kettles every time we pass one. Each holiday season we learn something else about the history of holiday traditions. And while the grandparents, thankfully, don't send the massive quantity of gifts they did in the beginning of our adventure in raising children, we still ask Santa to bless others. And we bless others too, as we are able.
Because it's about the giving.
And our next step is to work on the timely expression of gratitude.
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