The Homemaker Plans Her Week: The Old is New Once More

 

In my home this week, we will be experiencing a change.  Not anything we haven't done before but it will have new twists as we must now incorporate a life skill training into it.   Friday evening, we came to the determination that we were all weary, frustrated and tired of a situation where we continually being told we needed to make changes, but none would be forthcoming from the party demanding those changes.  Wehn I'd mentioned during a meeting that little one would benefit if they'd work with us on this life skill it was met with sneer.  I realized then that mama was paying out a chunk of money for nothing but added aggravation and I finally convinced everyone we should just call it a loss, move on and we'd do what needed to be done in the meantime.   And so, it begins this week.  We start over and work on our own.

Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Hot Cocoa Weather

 

Saturday:  I slept in this morning.  It was necessary.  Was it overstimulation last night at the small group meeting?  Or was it that half cup of 'good Cuban coffee' I had?  Either way, I found myself both sleepy yet unable to sleep.   1am, 2am, 3am...

Late is a relative term when you have a little one in the house.  I was amused when I came out of the bedroom to hear, "Hey Gramma..." and when I said, "How are you baby?" he replied by placing his hand on his chest and saying his name.  I told John I suppose he thought I'd forgotten who he was after not seeing him for 24 hours.

Make it for Less: Revamping Youtube Cooks' Budget Recipes

 

I promised you all this series way back in the fall.  How long ago that seems!  Well, finally I think I can begin work on this project.

I follow several cooks on YouTube.  They are home cooks, women who cook for their families and who do attempt to live on a budget.  But I'd noticed that with a lot of the budget recipes that are made might be made still more cheaply.  They will likely take more time, because cooking from scratch does take time.  There may be a few instances where I simply can't beat their prices and I thought it might be fun to show those as well.  There may be some older videos that were a certain price two years ago that cost the same or even more when I'm done with them, but I'll try to do a side-by-side comparison of prices where I can.  

The Homemaker Plans Her Week: Gee, January is Long!

In my home this week, I am wondering how January came to be so very long!   I know how many days there are and just where we are in those days, but it does seem like it's been about as long a month as August already.  And we all know, August goes on and on and on...

Anyway, I've been thinking January would just sail along as every month has since about last June, but no, it's dragged.  I catch myself repeatedly checking the calendar to be sure it's truly just the day it is and not two weeks further down the road.  I've been doing this since the first week.  And it's not because January has been stressful.  Just busy.  

Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Anything but Ordinary

 

Saturday:  It's been a lovely day.  We slept in, for us.  And we had such a lovely sleep.  For one thing it was cold, so it was nice to be under the covers together.  Often enough, I shed a layer while John is piling on a third layer.  Last night we both were comfortable and cozy without my being too warm or his being too cold.  

I was reading a blog today and the post written this week stated that the writer was putting away Christmas and returning to an 'ordinary' life.  That sentence really struck me because one thing I haven't had in the past three years is an ordinary life.  This holiday season wasn't ordinary.  It felt like we were slogging through the end of an overlong novel.   I don't want what has passed for ordinary in our lives. I don't want normal, at least not what had become normal.  I want anything but ordinary!

My Favorite Buys in 2022

I haven't done a Favorite buys post in ages.  Partly because there have been fewer purchases over the last year, or so I thought, but I find I've quite a few things I'd like to share with you all as really good purchases.  These are items I've used long enough now to really appreciate how well they work.   I always find it very helpful to know what someone else has found helpful or useful or might be a product I've looked at and wondered about but didn't know if it was worthwhile.

Kitchen Talk

 

I thought we'd just have a quick chat related to kitchen stuff.  It's a sort of wandering thoughts post but every item is related to kitchen/pantry.  

First, remember when every bacon became the food trend?  This would have been around 2012 or so, just about the time we felt we should give up pork.  Suddenly new recipes exploded on websites touting the new food trend.  Bacon Chocolate Chip cookies, Bacon Brownies, bacon in casseroles and bacon wrapped meats.  Though to be fair some of those recipes like bacon wrapped meat loaf or a slow cooked chicken breast already were old trends revived.  

The Homemaker Plans Her Week: Try, Try Again

 

In my home this week, I am continuing to try again.  I had plans made for last week and then a sick little one sidelined those plans, as did an unexpected two days spent out of the house.  I accomplished a few things from my list, and some that weren't on the list but were bugging me.  I'll settle for getting a few things done over getting nothing done.  At this point in time, any tasks done are bonus in my opinion.  Yes, I'd prefer to set a plan and work it, but we do what we must where we are at the moment.  This is where I am.

Menus didn't go to plan due to needing more time to prep and cook than I had time for.  Outdoor work didn't go at all.  I sort of got the kitchen under control, but not mopped.  No lists made though lately I've been shoving things on my Amazon list as I think of them (online list not a paper list).  Checkbook was squared and I sorted out where our money is going at present and John determined what our next moves were to be.  But honestly?  Not a lot of 'real' work got done.  And that's just the way it happens at times, isn't it?

Diary of a Homemaker's Week: Oops!

 

Forgive me.  I sent out this post early, then put it back in the queue to come up on its usual day.  If you're reading this and feel you've read it all, you haven't.  Just skip on down to Wednesday or Thursday and you can finish off the week with me.  I'm sorry for my mix-up.  I've been having a terrible time with focus lately because I am NOT writing down lists but storing too many thoughts at once in my brain.  Silly me.  The older I get the more I understand people who say they can't walk and chew gum at the same time.  Apparently, I can't write, listen to others and think about 9 other things all the same time!

Saturday:  It was a very laid-back day for us.  Our usual little, a sibling and mama, John all took naps.  I settled in my chair and though I didn't nap, I spent some time completing a Bible study that I found intriguing.

Salads Without the Lettuce

 

I was asked by a reader this weekend if I'd share my small repertoire of lettuce free salads.  I will happily do so.  I don't know why I haven't shared these before!  They are all quite good.  

One or two of these I haven't served at home just yet.  But I have tasted them and know that they are really good.  I won't share something I don't know to be really good!

Kidney Bean salad.  I found this salad featured in a Better Homes and Gardens Budget Dinners book that I'd picked up.  I tried several recipes from the book, most of which were really good.  The book listed a few menus, and this recipe was included in one of the menus.  I made the meal exactly as it was written in the 1971 cookbook.  It was surprisingly good.  It does say to line your bowl with lettuce, but you can skip that if the lettuce is too dear in cost.

Coffee Chat: Here's to a New Year

Hello dearies.  Do come in and let us sit and have a chat.  I haven't a thing sweet to offer but there's loads to choose from for drinks.  There's coffee and plenty of the flavored sorts if you'd like them: Pumpkin Spice, Vanilla Caramel, and Peppermint Cream as well as the plain coffee.  There's a variety of tea: Peppermint, Darjeeling, Lapsang Souchong, Peach, English Breakfast, Vanilla.  There's milk and lemon and sugar to choose from if you care to add anything to those.

John, as usual has sworn off sugary treats and sodas for the coming fast and while I have not, I don't keep loads of sweets on hand when John is fasting.  It doesn't stop me eating sweets, but I don't flaunt it.  Which means that I try to choose raisins or something first and when I think I can't bear being without chocolate I get a tablespoon of chocolate chips.  

The Homemaker Plans Her Week: I Think I Can

 

In my home this week, I think I can...Isn't it just wonderful to feel you can make a bit of progress after you've felt you were being forced to come to a full stop?  I've wandered around the house and tackled just anything at all that looks as though it has been neglected and I can see such a difference. It makes me feel positively giddy.  

Mind you all, I am gun shy.  Given a bit of time to do a few things, I am wary of having it all snatched away once more, but never mind.  I'll just make hay while the sun shines.  Oh yes, I will!

Diary of a Homemaker: Fresh Beginnings

Sunday:  Typically, I'd start these posts on a Saturday, but I tweaked a few other posts instead yesterday, getting them scheduled and edited, etc.  And since today is the first day of the New Year, I thought I'd just start this year's post on the first day of the month.

This is where I declare gallantly, "Let the past be the past.  I'm starting again!"  Honestly, I am.  I'm so over what's been behind and the complaining and whining that went along with it.  I'm not saying I won't get frustrated or impatient in the New Year.  Goodness knows those attributes are just as much a part of my personality as my overall optimistic outlook and desire to organize.  But I am going to try NOT to complain or whine.  I'm actually starting this today rather than beginning on Thursday when our church begins the 21-day fast.  Honestly, this is one of my goals for this 21-day fast, to literally give up complaining and whining.  Enough I say!  Truly, enough.

New Year: January 2023 Goals

I've had little time to make monthly goals much less resolutions in the past few months.  That year-end review I was going to do kind of got kicked hard and ended up in a gutter somewhere, soggy, damp and unsalvageable.  I let it just stay there. 

When I considered making resolutions for the year ahead, I wondered why I should.  I mean, nothing went to plan last year.  Not one single thing.  Every time I made plans of any sort they too got kicked into a gutter.  It's not that I'm giving up.  I'm just thinking that trying to make a roadmap when my idea of the destination is completely different from the destination God has in mind (and I haven't a clue what His destination is) makes yearlong goals rather silly.

The Homemaker Plans Her Week: It's a Brand New Year!

 

In my home this week, I am looking forward to this fresh start in a brand-new year.  I had quite enough of 2022 which proved to be nearly as tiresome in its way as 2020 and 2021.  Mind you not much has changed but there are changes that will make life a little bit less stressful.  I hope.  Heavens how I hope!

What can you expect here in 2023?  Well, I'm not likely to pound you with diets and exercise plans but there are some changes I hope to incorporate into the year ahead.  You'll read about those in my next post which is coming out tomorrow.

Mostly what you can expect is more of the usual.  Savings, attempts to live beautifully and honestly and transparently, goal setting to improve our lives or to improve myself...In other words, all the usual things but just scaled down to monthly goals not annual ones.