Happy Memorial Day

I hope that everyone had a good Memorial Day yesterday. 

Mine started off with a 5K sponsored by a friend.  I wanted to beat Saturday's time of 3 miles in 36 minutes and I did.  I ran it in 32 minutes.  It was hard and my thighs are screaming at me today but it was good.  I'm glad I pushed.

After I got home and showered we went and bought a chainsaw and some stuff for a BBQ.  We also made homemade Root Beer.  It was awesome.  I know that there are better recipes out there but it was so cool.

 IT'S ALIVE!!!!

Ok so that was so much fun.  The recipe we used I just found on the Internet.  It was 6 C White Sugar and 3 1/3 Gallon Cold Water.  Mix until sugar dissolves then add 2 oz Root Beer Extract.  Once all is mixed add 4 pounds of dry ice.  The picture above is after the dry ice has been added.

You are supposed to let it sit for an hour before drinking.  We ended up adding some more sugar.  It just wasn't tasting completely right.  I don't think it was a huge hit at the BBQ but we really liked it.  We still have like 3 Gallons.

We had friends over yesterday for a BBQ and our children ran around playing.  It was a lot of fun.  It is so nice to spend time with friends.

A week full of firsts.

Last week was an interesting week.  I set a goal with my family that wouldn't watch any TV for a week.  I wanted more family time and less TV time and thought if we went through some of our withdrawals it would help in the weeks to come.  My husband agreed to it although I don't think he really wanted to do it.  He didn't really complain but I knew that he wanted to watch TV.

Friday was a good day.  We bummed around the house for a while.  We ended up going to the post office and mailing a breast bump to my brother whose wife had just had her first baby.  She is 5 weeks early but it looks like she might be able to come home soon.  My husband got home early.  He watched the kids so I could go for a jog.  I ended up talking to my mother for the full 20 minute jog.  It was nice.  The time just flew and before I knew it my jog was over.  I was planning a longer jog on Saturday morning so I didn't want to over do it.  My shins are finally not hurting when I jog and I don't want to push my luck.  That evening I went to our monthly "P Party" with the young women.  We work on our Personal Progress and visit and have fun.  It was a good day with no TV.

Saturday I didn't end up going for the jog in the morning but it was still an interesting morning.  While I was making sausage patties and pancakes I got hand soap in my eye.  I was washing my hand and it splashed up under my glasses and into my eye.  It hurt like the dickens.  I stood at the sink rinsing cold water in my eye in between turning the pancakes.  I have never had that happen before.  Shampoo soap...ya it has happened....hand soap...never.  We went to Tulsa and ended up in Sears looking at TVs. lol.  Go figure.  We aren't watching any but we are thinking about buying a bigger TV.  Don't worry.  We decided that if we really wanted one we could come back on Monday and the sales would still be on.  I did get my jog later in the evening.  I wanted to run for 40 minutes but figured I better add time a little at a time.  So I ran 36 minutes and got my 3 miles.  Happy day. 

Sunday we went to church.  Today was our last day of no TV.  I will confess we did end up watching TV today.  We had got a Tinkerbell movie from Netflix in the mail on Saturday and my husband and daughter wanted to watch TV.  I was feeling bad about being a TV Nazi and they had done good all week.  So at about 6 we watched Tinkerbell as a family.  Not bad.

So it was a very good week with lots of first and it did help me realize that we watch entirely way too much TV.  I will try to do better in the future.

I did learn just how much I like having the TV as an option.  Sarah doesn't nap anymore or she wont go to bed until 10 so we do rest time.  She lies on the couch with her pillow and a blanket and watches one movie while I sew or clean or do whatever.  We couldn't do that at all last week.  I will, however, cut down on the rest of the TV we watch each day.

Posting to continue tomorrow.

Sorry I left you all hanging the last few days.  It has been a good and busy weekend.  The business continues today so I will try to find time tonight to post.  If not I will definitely post tomorrow morning and let everyone know how the last few days of no TV went and what projects I am currently working on. 

Have a wonderful Memorial Day.

Exciting news!!!!

I just found out about an hour ago that my sister in law had a baby girl.  She came 5 weeks early and other than breathing problems is doing well.  She is 6 lbs some odd ounces and right now is in the NICU.  They say she will probably have to stay for a week but then hopefully she will be able to come home.

It was weird in a good way when all of my siblings were married and now all of them have children.  It is so fun to see my family grow.

Just wanted to share the exciting news.

The real 4th day of no TV

I just realized that the title of yesterday's blog was the 4th day of no TV.  Yesterday, Thursday, was the actual 4th day without TV.  It was a good day.  Another busy one.  In the morning we went to Play group at the church.  We took our friend and her three girls with us.  It was nice to go let our kids run around the gym while us moms visited.

When we got home Yana was asleep so I moved her to her crib and started sewing on some projects that needed to be done today.  I'll show pictures at a later date since I don't want some people to see them.  Then we (my girls and myself) headed to the home of the Young Woman president.  One of the other leaders in the Young Woman's came as well and we assembled some things.  You will understand more about this later when I share pictures.

After that we started brain storming for ideas for girls camp coming up June 6th.  The Young Woman President and myself will be going for our ward.  While I'm gone my lovely mother in law will be watching my kids.  I will be gone from the 6th at noon until the 10th at about noon.  That should also tell you that there will be no posts that week as I will not be near a computer for a week. I am SOOO excited to go to girls camp!!!

After that we came home to meet with the parents of our landlord in order to get our freezer fixed...they ended up not being able to come.  I cooked dinner and then got dressed in nicer clothes (I was wearing jogging capris and an old t-shirt) and my husband took me out to dinner and then we just walked around Walmart picking up a few things that we needed.  It was a nice date.

The kids were asleep when we got home.  We visited with the babysitter for a few minutes and then when she left I folded laundry and got ready for bed.  I have been so tired the last few days.

It was a good day with no TV.  I'm loving this but missing it when I want Sarah to take a rest time so I can go sew.

Day 4 of No TV and bird poop

Today was a really good day.  First we went to the library and we took our friends with us.  So for the first time since we have owned our Yukon it was full of car seats.  I mean full.  It was my friend and I, her three girls and my two girls.  The oldest is 5.  So we went to the library for reading time and then signed her girls up for the summer reading program and got another sticker in my girls summer reading booklets.  After we got our books we loaded back up and headed home. 

At the car while I was loading Yana the unthinkable happened.  I have never in my life that is until yesterday morning been pooped on by a bird.  But, there I was standing there minding my own business and a bird had the gall to poop on my shoulder.  At first I thought I was seeing things because I couldn't see anything on my shoulder and then after a few seconds I knew it wasn't just my imagination but a bird had definitely pooped on me because my shoulder was wet.  So needless to say that shirt will have to be washed before it is worn again.  I guess I just need to be thankful it happened on my shoulder and not on my arm or my head or somewhere where material wasn't able to protect me.

It was, despite the bird pooping on me, a good morning.  Once at home Yana took a nap and I read books to Sarah as well as read the magazine I picked up at CVS :Runners World, June addition.  Yana took a 3 hour nap instead of a 2 hour nap so we had lots of time.  After her nap we cleaned the house.  We pulled furniture away from walls and vacuumed really good.

Later my friend watched my girls so I could go for a jog.  I hadn't jogged since last Thursday.  I just haven't had the energy nor the desire.  I think I over trained.  I was running 3 times a week and riding my bike 2-3 times a week and pushing harder and harder.  I just didn't have any energy left.  I almost didn't go yesterday.  I was cold and tired.  Cold right in 75 degree weather.  So I took a 10 minute nap on the couch with Sarah's blanket and felt great.  My jog felt great.  The week of no running helped my shins because they didn't bother me as much as normal.

We made tater tot casserole for dinner with half as many tater tots as were needed because we ran out.  Dinner tasted good either way.  I threw salad on the table in hopes that I would only have one serving of the casserole and it worked. 

Then it was off to mutual.  We Tye dyed shirts for girls camp.  This was my first experience with this process and it was a lot of fun.  We split the girls up in groups with 4 girls in each group.  One of the leaders had set up some "minute to win it" style games and the girls rotated from station to station while one group at a time worked on their shirts.  It was a lot of fun.  Towards the end I introduced the girls and leaders to leg wrestling.  It was a lot of fun.  The girls had a lot of fun doing all the activities and it was fun to watch them.

2nd day without the TV

Yesterday I actually spent all day with my kids...no babysitters.  So we went to the Library at 10 and signed up for the summer reading program.  

If you live in the area you can sign your children up even if they can't read yet.  They signed my three year old and my five month old.  You(the parent) just have to read the books to them.  The way it works is they need to visit the library 4 times over the summer and each time they do they get a sticker.  So if you go twice a week like us then you have that in the bag in two weeks.  Then they also need to have books read to them or if they can read they read the books.  I know the prizes are a little differently for the older kids but for the younger kids they get 2 prizes.  When they read 8 books they get a little medal and when they reach 20 books they get a really cool blow up airplane.

After the library we came home.  After a few minutes I was asked to watch my friends two oldest daughters.  They needed to take their youngest to the hospital for stitches.  So we drove them to the hospital and then I brought the two oldest home with me and we played and colored and had lunch and snacks and just had fun.

 They started out with cheese, banana's and tomatoes.  Random I know but they had fun.  My daughter ate all and then stuck the toothpicks in her banana.

Later my friend and I went to Walmart to get some more things for our 72 hour kits.  We wanted to make sure we were prepared for the storm moving in.

We had the missionaries over for dinner and we spent a lot of the time listening to the storm radio.  Tornadoes were touching down near Oklahoma City and the weather was getting worse and worse around us.  We had thunderstorms and so much rain.  Our power flickered and it was so loud around us.  I wouldn't have been so nervous if I didn't have pictures of Joplin, MS going through my head.

Thankfully we didn't have any tornadoes.  Since we aren't watching any TV I still got lots done at the kitchen table.  Much like the night before I ready my scriptures and worked on other projects that needed to get done and finished a few of them.  It was a good night.  My husband is missing the TV more than I am.  I think because I have more indoor projects than he does.  If the weather was good he would have things to do outside.  We are hoping that the weather will turn nice and dry stuff out so we can work in the yard again.

I am really liking not having the TV on in the evenings.  I noticed that two other people voted that they would go through a week with no TV as well.  I don't know who you are and that is fine but if you want to share your experiences and activities please let me know.

Have a good.  We are going to the library again today.

Wednesday's Recipe - Roast Beef Sandwiches

About two Sunday papers ago I saw a recipe that I thought would be fun to try so I clipped it.  We tried it last week actually and absolutely loved it.  It will become one of our favorites.  It is really easy to make and tastes really good.  It is a Campbell's recipe.

 Dripping Roast Beef Sandwiches with Melted Provolone

1 Can (10.5 oz.) Campbell's Condensed French Onion Soup

1 Tbsp reduced sodium Worcestershire sauce

3/4 lb thinly sliced deli roast beef

4 Pepperidge Farm Classic Soft Hoagie Rolls with Sesame Seeds

4 slices deli provolone cheese cut in half

1/4 C drained mild or pickled banana pepper rings

Heat your oven to 400F

Heat the soup and Worcestershire over medium-high heat to a boil.

Add beef and heat through, stirring occasionally.

Divide beef among rolls.  Top beef mixture with cheese slices and place sandwiches on baking sheet

Bake 3 minutes or until the sandwiches are toasted and cheese is melted.

Spoon soup mixture onto sandwiches.

Top each sandwich with 1 tbsp pepper rings.

I didn't use pepper rings.  I forgot about them.  I also didn't have the sesame seeds on our rolls.  They were super quick to make and tasted really good.  Our three year old daughter even liked them. 

Enjoy.  The paper said you could find more yummy recipes at www.campbellskitchen.com.
Have a wonderful day.



A grocery sack holder with whisks on it...posted!

I just posted this grocery sack this morning.  It is really cute.  It has whisks at one end.  Perfect for the kitchen.  I have more pictures at my store so be sure to check it out.  http://www.etsy.com/listing/74716838/whisk-themed-grocery-sack-holder

If you have lots of grocery sacks you want to keep in one spot and look nice while doing it then this is the way to go.  If you have a graduating senior going off to collage then this is a great way to help them save money.  Keeping grocery sacks and using them for garbage bags is a great way to save money.

Be sure to check it out and share with your friends.

1st day of No TV went well

Yesterday was in interesting day.  Yesterday we started our week without the TV.  My husband is already questioning my sanity I'm sure.  Originally I wanted to do this last week but because the weather was going to keep us indoors most of the week I pushed it off 'til this week....and lo and behold the weather might do the same thing.

Last night when my husband got home he thought we should push it off and do it when the weather was nice enough that we could do things outside and I almost gave in....almost.  The TV was turned on only once yesterday and it was for our 3 year old daughter to watch her preapproved "Your child can read" movie.  She gets to watch it once since it is for learning purposes.

She really wanted to watch movies throughout the day. 

Here is how our day went:
We had a babysitter come in the morning from about 8:30-12.  I went to Tulsa to help cut out material for some costumes.  The youth here are going to a Youth Conference and need costumes.  We cut out something like 100 poodle skirts and then cut up like 10 rolls of white material to make tier skirts.
I had warned the babysitter that we weren't watching TV this week which turned out to be a good thing.  Sarah doesn't really understand why we aren't watching TV and kept trying to get the babysitter to turn on a movie for her.

When I got home we gathered stuff to donate to the people in Joplin, MS and took it over to a friends house.  They have been given permission my the MS government or local authorities to bring up supplies.

After we did that we came home and while Yana was sleeping, Sarah and I used the last of our batting and some scrap material made some 14"x10" pillows for some kids in Joplin.  We will take those over today with some more stuff we have found to donate.

Josh got home around 5:30 and we had dinner.  We were going to go to Walmart but then we had Flash flood warnings and Tornado warnings so we decided to stay home.  Josh and Sarah played with swords in the living room while I folded laundry and fed Yana.

The girls went to bed at 8 and then Josh and I sat at the kitchen table.  I read my scriptures, wrote in my journal, cut out coupons, wrote recipe cards, went through umpteen magazines and papers and just got a lot of things done.  I'm exactly sure what my husband did but he kept himself entertained.

So all in all it was a good day and so quiet.  I am hoping that after a day or too Sarah will realize how nice it is to have the TV turned off.

Today is sunny but I don't know for how long.  We will be going to the Library for reading time and we will sign Sarah up for the summer reading program.  For any of you in the Tulsa area who have kids...sign them up for the reading program.  Even if they can't read they can sign up and you can read to them and have the books count.

It should be a good day.  I hope you all have a good day.

A way to serve and help.

In response to my previous post about service projects being needed - I have found a way to serve.  There has been a Tornado hit Joplin, MS and many of the people here in Owasso know people there.  There is effort to send as any supplies as we can up to Joplin.  I went through my home this morning finding things that we don't use or have extras.

Many people up there lost everything and anything that can be sent would be a blessing.  There is a family in our ward that is gathering stuff to take up tomorrow night.  If anyone in the area would like to donate anything:

food
clothes
blankets
shoes
baby items
toys
coloring books
etc.

Please let me know and I will direct you to a place you can drop them off. 

I'm glad to be able to help, it is just sad that it had to happen after a tornado.

Let the week without TV begin!!!

Well today is Monday....that is if you haven't noticed yet.  :)  I decided last week that we would have a week with no TV.  I got my husband to join in on the "fun" and we decided to start today.  This is going to b an interesting week.  I sometimes enjoy having the TV babysit so I can take a shower or sew for a few minutes.  I have a whole list of things to do thanks to all your ideas. 

Each day I will let you know how the day before went and what we did.  Our ancestors didn't have TV and they survived so, so can we.

This week will be interesting but I'm sure we will have fun.  The poll is still up and I noticed that another person is going to do this with me.  If anyone else wants to take the poll it closes today.

Have a good week everyone.

A good weekend and a new week.

This last weekend was a good one.  We wanted to go camping but the weather just didn't look like it was going to cooperate with us so we made other plans.  Instead we went to Oklahoma City to the temple.

It was really nice. We went with another family and we took turns watching the children so we could each go through  session.  Then at home we relaxed with our children.

This weekend I also tried to get creative and reuse an empty similac container and some scrap material.

Here is the Similac container and the material I chose to use.

Here is what it looked like when I was done.  I cute a strip and then ironed all the edges under.

Then I used my hot glue gun and glued it on.

I even tried to put a flower on the top to cover the label.  I ran out of glue sticks while working on the top.

It was a lot of fun trying to be creative.  If you are asking what we use it for well...a crayon box.  We were using an old tin that I had but my daughter could never open it and it was dented and dinged and just didn't look good anymore so I wanted something that she could figure out.

I hope that you all had a good weekend.

Another cute Grocery Sack holder - Listed!

This is a kitchen towel turned grocery sack holder. As you can see it is stripped. If you like to keep your grocery sacks after grocery shopping this is a great way to keep them organized. You can hang it behind a door, in the pantry, set it on the floor or even set them on the shelf. This is cute so if they are out in the open you don't have to be embarrassed.

All the grocery sack holders I have been posting were a lot of fun to make.  The material was so cute.  I almost kept one for myself to replace the one I have.

 

Check out my store for more information on this grocery sack holder and to see more.  www.IdahoAtHeart.etsy.com

Leafy Grocery Sack Holder is now posted

This morning I posted my Leafy grocery sack holder.  Come check it out at my store to see more pictures.

This is a kitchen towel turned grocery sack holder. As you can see it is stripped. If you like to keep your grocery sacks after grocery shopping this is a great way to keep them organized. You can hang it behind a door, in the pantry, set it on the floor or even set them on the shelf. This is cute so if they are out in the open you don't have to be embarrassed.

This Target towels so they can be washed if they get dirty.
It is 25 1/2 inches long (empty).

There is rope in the top and the bottom. I don't cut it short that way you can decide how long or short you want the rope.

It was made in a pet and smoke free home.

They make great gifts to those graduating seniors you know.

If you get creative they can even be used to hold your socks.

They are fun to make and I hope that you enjoy this one

Sunflower table runner - now for sell.

 Here is the sunflower table runner I have been talking about.  There is another one that is almost finished and I will post pictures when it is finished.  It, however, will not be posted.  It has already been purchased.  Come check it out at my store.  www.IdahoAtHeart.etsy.com.

I will next start on my 4th of July Table runners so I can get them up as soon as possible.  Keep checking back and I will keep you posted on my sewing adventures.

Thursday Cafe Blog hop

If your looking for a blog hop today.  Hop on over to the Thursday Cafe Blog Hop and join in the fun.

http://menonewmom.blogspot.com/2011/05/thursday-friends-cafe-blog-hop_19.html?utm_source=feedburner

Have a good day.

Completed projects - ready to post

A while back I bought some material to make some more grocery sack holders to sell in my store.  Take a look.

 This is what it starts out as....a bunch of grocery sacks.  You either stick them inside of each other or you put them in a grocery sack holder.

 This is the very first one I made.  This is ours and it is used all the time.  I like to keep the sacks as garbage bags for my bathroom garbage's.  I keep ours in the kitchen hanging behind the door.

 Here is a flower printed one.  I hung it up in the pantry with our aprons.

 This is a leafy one.  I just sat it on the floor.  They don't have to hang if you don't have anywhere to hang them.

 This is a striped one with a yard stick so you can get a better idea of how big they are.  They are just kitchen towels turned into grocery sack holders.  You could even use them to hold socks if you wanted.

I thought this one worked really well in the kitchen because of the whisk on the bottom.  They have rope in each end.  One is tied tighter in order to hold the sacks in and the other is more loosely tied.  I don't cut the extra rope off in case you want to tie them at a different spot.

I absolutely love ours.  It helps keep our kitchen and pantry organized.  They make great gifts to those graduating seniors, to mothers, grandmothers, and anyone else who saves those pesky but very handy grocery sacks.  I will be posting them later today after we get back from the grocery store.  Keep checking back to see them at my store.

Service Projects Ideas are Needed

How many of you remember doing service projects as a kid with your parents, friends, youth groups?  I remember picking up garbage, making blankets for the hospital, baking cookies and things like that.  As I have gotten older and now married I haven't spent a lot of time looking for ways to serve others.  I've kind of been focusing only on my family.  This morning while reading in the Conference Ensign the talk was on serving those around us. 

It got me thinking...how will my children learn to serve others if I don't show them and include them in some service projects?  Now here is the dilemma?  Where do I find service projects?  What kind of service projects can I do with a 3 year old?

As I have posted we are going to go for a week without the TV.  My husband has even agreed to do this with us.  It should be a great week.  I have received many ideas thanks to your help and have planned them out in my planner for the days of that week and thought that a service project would be a good one to add.  Now I just need a service project.  If you have any ideas I would greatly appreciate them. 

Oh, and if you haven't voted on my poll please don't forget to do that.  Let me know if you are going to join me for a week of no TV starting Monday.  Don't worry...my feelings will not be hurt in the slightest if you don't.  Have a wonderful day.

Wednesday Recipe - BBQ Burgers

I decided that each week I would try one new recipe and then share it here on my blog.  When I sat down Saturday to write out my menu I completely forgot.  So Monday as I was thinking about my blog and looking at the fridge I realized my mistake and immediately started looking for a recipe - preferably one that I already had all the ingredients to.

I had hamburger that I had just thawed so I needed to use it before it went bad.  I was looking through my Better Homes and Garden cook book and decided to try the BBQ Burgers.

BBQ Burgers

1/4 C Ketchup

2 Tbls steak Sauce

1 Tbls Water

1 Tsp Sugar

1 Tsp Vinegar

1 Clove minced garlic

Few dashes bottled hot pepper sauce (opt)

1 Lb lean ground beef

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 Hamburger buns, split and toasted

Other burger garnishes (tomatoes, cheese etc)

Ok so that is the ingredient list....So here how this went for me.  I had fully intended to follow this recipe but...things changed.  I don't have any steak sauce so I used BBQ sauce and no hot pepper sauce.  I also forgot to toast the buns.  I was being lazy and didn't want to have to start the grill and I just wanted things to be done by the time my husband got home from work so I altered the recipe. 

I browned the meat instead of turn it into patties.

I used the sauce to make a sort of sloppy joe style burger.

Wasn't enough sauce so:

I added a little ketchup and BBQ sauce at a time until I had enough.

The original sauce that I had before added extra tasted really good.  The recipe says to spread it over the hamburger patties the last few minutes of cooking.  I think I will try this again with hamburger patties but last night just wasn't the night.  I improvised.  They tasted so good.  I basically came up with a new sloppy joe mix that I can make from scratch.  It is a keeper and I really like it.  My husband even liked it and my daughter ate almost all of hers (she got full before she finished).

Sorry I forgot to take pictures.  I remembered before we ate them but forgot when serving.  So that is this weeks recipe.  If you try it let me know what you think.

Any ideas?

If you've read my post from this morning you will know that we are about to go for a week without the TV.  I need some ideas of activities to do inside and out with my 3 year old daughter.  We go to the park when the weather is nice like this morning.  It was a lot of fun but I don't want to spend all day at the park in order to avoid the television.

Here are the ideas that I have:

Color

Practice ABC's

Read books

Indoor hopscotch

That isn't a very big list.  So I'm asking you.  What do you do with your kids indoors and out?  Please help me come up with some ideas.

Tv time

This morning I was reading the General Conference Ensign and I was reading the talk by Elder Quentin L Cook titled "LDS Women Are Incredible!"  I really liked the talk but the one thing that really stood out to me was a quote that he had included.  It was towards the end of his talk when he was talking about the roles of sisters in the family.  One sister had said "...families are TV rich and family-time poor."

That really got me thinking about my family and how much TV we watch.  We turned of the Dish a month ago so you would think that we watch less TV right.... not necessarily.  We have Netflix through our Wii as well as Cd's by mail, we have the Internet and hook it up to the TV to watch new episodes of our favorite weekly shows and we have Cd's and VHS.  So no we don't necessarily watch less TV.  I'd say we watch the same amount, we are just paying less.

As I was thinking about this I remembered back to when I went to EFY (Especially for Youth) which is a program for kids ages 14-18.   I went to Ricks Collage in Rexburg, ID.  It was back in 1997 when it was still called Ricks.  I had a wonderful time.  My grandmother paid for my and 3 of my cousins to go.  Anyways, my point with that is that one of the talks had to do with the amount of TV we watch.  We were challenged to go without the TV for an entire month.  Did I do it?  Yes.  It was an interesting month and I watched less TV after that month for a long time.  However, things don't last forever.

I sat there finishing the article, thinking to myself that we (meaning my entire family) should go without the TV for a month and then I decided that might be a bit much.  I could go without the TV for a month if it was only me but to be completely honest when my kids are awake and I want to take a shower I turn on one of my daughter's shows and it keeps her content.  When Yana (my 5 month old) is napping and I want to sew I turn on a movie for Sarah and then she has rest time.  She lays on the couch with her pillow and a blanket and watches her show.  Sarah and now Yana also have the "Your baby can read" program.  So I decided a whole month might be a bit much.  All I really want to do is help our family find more family time - not in front of the TV.

So here is my plan.  Tonight when my husband gets home I am going to include him in our plan.  For one week we will go without the TV except for one thing.  Sarah will still be able to watch her 1/2 hour DVDs of "Your baby can read"  She watches it once in the morning and should be watching it again in the afternoon or evening.  That will be the only thing that is watched for an entire week.  To show you how much of a wimp I am I am not even going to start this until Monday.  From Wednesday on this week is going to be raining and stormy and I am not prepared for that kind of non TV entertainment for most of the week.  Instead I will cut back on the TV viewing and we will do more activities and I am going to start looking for and making activity boxes or something to that effect so on rainy days we can do something more than sit in front of the TV.

How many of you want to join me and my family for a week without the TV?  We will start Monday and go through Sunday.  Please let me know if you will join me by either posting your reply on this post and/or answering the poll to the side.

Saturday Yard work fun

 Saturday was a good day.  I started out with a nice bike ride work out.  Then we went to the Home Depot.  We bought several bags of mulch and 4 marigolds.  We also bought some fertilizer and some seed for our yard.  The grass in our yard is mainly weeds.  We are trying to help it look a little better. 

 The mulch that was down before was red and we went with brown.  I think ours looks much better than the red.

 I'm excited for my marigolds.  I just hope that I don't kill them.

Bike Ride

I decided earlier this week that I wanted to start riding my bike as well as jog.  It took me all week to get it done but I did it.  Since my shins are still giving me a little bit of a fit since I've started jogging again I decided to jog only 3 times a week rather than 4.  I would like to build up to jogging 5-6 times a week but for now I'll start with 3.  So that leaves me with 3 days of the week where I need some form of exercise.

I've always like riding bikes I've just never really done it for exercise purposes.  This morning after breakfast I: 1st, I sprayed the outside of our house for spiders and bugs.  2nd I pulled weeds in the flower bed and then 3rd I got the bike up and cleaned it off and even rubbed some spider spray on it.  (I get tired of riding my bike and having spiders crawl out on the handle bars or drop on my leg...)  Then when Yana was asleep away I went....that is after filling the tires with air.

I started out kind of slow thinking to myself "what have I gotten myself into".  After I got warmed up a little I noticed that I was riding faster and faster until this dog decided to follow me.  It was a little dog and I wasn't the least bit afraid of it...but...it wasn't going home and the owners were calling for it so I stopped so it would stop chasing and after about a minute of it just watching me and not going home I decided that I wasn't going to wait anymore and kept riding.  It eventually stopped chasing and went home (I hope). 

I had plans to ride for 30 minutes and then after riding for about 20 minutes I decided that for the first time that would be a good start.  I road 4.22 miles in 21 minutes.  That probably isn't much but it is a good start for me.  I hope that each time I ride it will get better and better.

Recipes

Well I was looking around on my Kaboodle, Pinterest and StumbleUpon accounts yesterday and kept coming across really yummy looking recipes.  It got me thinking....I have several cook books and I hardly ever use them.  I see really yummy looking recipes in them but how often do I stop and cook them?  My cook books are becoming wall and counter decorations more than what they were meant to be.

So I decided yesterday and was still thinking about it this morning that I am going to cook one new recipe every week and that recipe is going to be what I share on here. I am also going to try to remember to take pictures of at least the finished product before we start eating it.  It might be the main course, the dessert, breads, salads.  Who knows.  I just need to start using my cook books and you this blog is going to help me do that.  This week it probably wont happen....I'll post my first one Wednesday. 

Do you have recipes you want to share?  Feel free to let me know.  I'd love to try some new recipes from you as well.  Have a good Saturday everyone.

Craft Night fun

A couple of months ago a couple of my friends and I decided that there should be a night when we could get together, leave our kids with our spouses and work on projects that we just haven't been getting done while watching our kids.  Last month there were three of us who were able to get together.  We really enjoyed it. 

So last night we did it again.  My husband happened to be there and decided to take pictures.  I was finishing the binding on a table runner, a friend was working on a tutu, another was working on a computer project, another was working on a family quilt and another friend was working on a children's blanket.

It started at 7 and went until about 9:30.  And yes, of course we visited but we still got things done.  Could we have gotten more done without the visiting......maybe but then that defeats half the purpose of getting together.  It is so nice to visit with friends while working on projects.

I finished my table runner and almost finished a bag I was working on.  I'll show pictures of it later when it is finished.

I believe that we are going to get together again in a couple of weeks at a different house and do it again.  I'm so excited.  It is so nice to visit with good friends doing things we all enjoy.

Wednesdays Recipe - Twice Baked Potatoes

Sorry I didn't get a recipe out last week.  This week I am going to share a quick and easy way to make Twice Baked Potatoes.  I have a wonderful recipe that tastes so yummy but sometimes I don't have as much time or all the ingredients so one time I improvised and it turned out really good.

Twice Baked Potato

Potatoes

Sour Cream

Cheese (shredded)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Salt

If you don't have time to bake the potatoes in the oven you can cook them in the microwave.

I fold a paper towel in half and place my washed potatoes inside and cook for 2 minutes and flip, 2 minutes and flip until they are soft.

Then you cut them in half (hot dog ways) and scoop out the insides.

Add a little at a time of the sour cream, salt, pepper, cheese, and garlic salt.

Add and mix until you get it to the desired consistency and taste.

Scoop back into the skins and sprinkle with a little more cheese and cook until the cheese melts

Quick and easy.  We really like them.  I am making them for dinner tonight so I'll try to remember to take pictures to add to this post tomorrow.  I hope that you like them.  Have a good day.

A good weekend

We had an awesome weekend.  My husband had a business trip last week and then didn't have to work Friday.  So we went to Tulsa.  I had heard a lot about Fleet Feet and how they will watch you run and then tell you what type of shoe you need.  So I ran on their treadmill and was told that when I run my legs stay in alignment really well actually.  That was a relief.  I have been worried that things are a little off.  So I tried on some Adidas, Nike, and Asics and I really liked the Adidas but could feel a line in the center of my foot.  I also really liked the Asics and didn't like the Nike at all.  So my husband bought me some Asics for Mother's day.

Then when we got home we got all packed up and went camping.  It was so fun.  We hadn't been camping in almost a year.  We set up camp.  I got a fire going while my husband and our friend went looking for firewood.  Then I carved us some hot dog roasting sticks and we had hot dogs and s'mores.  We sat around the fire for a while and then went to bed.  Yana slept all night long but Sarah wouldn't sleep.  She finally fell asleep at about 5 in the morning.

In the middle of the night I kept hearing noises.  Like the handle of our dutch oven moved, someone/thing stepped on our truck bumper and then the last straw was when it sounded like someone had just closed our food box.  So I woke my husband up and he grabbed his knife and flashlight and went out to check on it.  We think we had raccoons in our truck because the garbage was all over in the truck and there were paw prints on the lid of the dutch oven.  So then we went back to bed and about 45 minutes later the garbage can in the next camp ground was tipped over.  It was a very interesting night.

Saturday we had breakfast and cleaned up camp and made a cobbler.  After lunch we had everything packed up and we drove around to the swimming area and went swimming.  It was SOOOO cold but we had fun. 

Later after we were home I wanted to go for a run so bad that I wasn't paying attention.  I went jogging at 3:30 and pushed my daughter in her stroller.  She fell asleep and I was drained by the heat.  But my shins didn't seem to hurt lol.

Mothers day was good.  We got lemon sugar body scrubs at church and then had some friends over for dinner.  It was a wonderful weekend and I can't wait to go camping again.

Yay for camping!!!

We just got back from camping and it was SOOO much fun.  However,  I need to get some things done and then I'll tell you all about it.  I'll post it on Monday.  Have a good Sunday.

Monday's randomness.

Well it is Monday all over again....funny how that happens every week.  Every Monday I have a list a mile long and it seems to be my busiest day.  Today will be no exception.  I normally stay home and clean on Monday's but today we will venture out into the world and get some things done there too.  I hope to finish my table runner today amongst all the cleaning.

This weekend we noticed that Yana is now teething.  She has two top teeth coming in.  They are coming in a little bit further back in her mouth than I was expecting so I kept saying that she wasn't teething because I couldn't feel them.  However, after my husband looked we can now see the teeth they are just behind the normal ridge line.  I don't know exactly what that means for her teeth but hopefully they will move down where they are supposed to be.

Last week was awesome for me as far as weight loss goes...until Sunday.  I had actually lost 3 pounds last week and then yesterday we Fasted, had lunch and then made cookies....can you see where I'm going with this.  So I gained most of what I lost back.  I'm still hoping that so long as I eat healthily today and exercise then it will come back off just as fast.  So no more of those weekend weight killer days.

I plan on going to Fleet Feet sometime this week and having them help me find out what type of running shoe I should be using.  I have heard wonderful things about them and am excited to have someone help me.  I hate picking them out because they feel fine while walking but then when running they may or may not continue to feel that great.  I had an awesome run last Wednesday and I am so excited to see what good new shoes will do.

Well my girls are awake and I have lots to do.  Have a good Monday and thanks for reading my ramblings.